Filthy Lucre - Tuesdays with Timothy #27

..Not greedy of filthy lucre

A pastor cannot be a greedy man. He cannot live for riches. Money can be a great temptation and those that will be rich put themselves in a dangerous spiritual position (more to be said later in the book). One of the guideposts for a church to examine a man's character is whether or not he is eager for riches. This doesn't have anything to do with how much money a man actually has, but how much he wants it or wants to hang on to it. You can be poor as a church mouse but so greedy you'll hang on to a dollar bill until George Washington cries uncle.

The motive for desiring to be a pastor must be for the glory of God not for the money you could possibly make 1 Peter 5:1-2. A man has to be ready and able to make a stand despite the financial cost of doing so. If the pastor is greedy for money and possessions then he will administer his task with earthly riches in mind rather that what is right and what is true. Messages will be adjusted and blunted to avoid offending the big givers. Doctrines will be watered down to draw larger crowds. Compromises will be made in order to please those who control the purse. False doctrine will be preached in order to bring in more money. Look no further than the audacious riches of Rome to understand where the love of money will take you.  Loraine Boettner wrote  “The doctrine of purgatory has sometimes been referred to as ‘the gold mine of the priesthood’ since it is the source of such lucrative income. The Roman Church might well say, ‘By this craft we have our wealth.’”

That being said, the church should do all it can to support their pastor's ministry (Acts 6:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9;1 Timothy 5:18). The church doesn't pay the pastor so much as they support his ministry. He is not an employee, he is a servant of Christ unto the church. It is not the churches duty to ensure the pastor stays humble, God takes care of that.

Sentimental about a Barlow

Upon memorizing the Beatitudes, Tom Sawyer received quite the prize:

"Mary gave him a brand-new "Barlow" knife worth twelve and a half cents; and the convulsion of delight that swept his system shook him to his foundations. True, the knife would not cut anything, but it was a "sure-enough" Barlow and there was inconceivable grandeur in that—though where the Western boys ever got the idea that such a weapon could possibly be counterfeited to its injury, is an imposing mystery and will always remain so, perhaps. Tom contrived to scarify the cupboard with it, and was arranging to begin on the bureau, when he was called off to dress for Sunday-school."

My Grandpa Doug carried a Barlow knife that I coveted as a boy. "Sure-enough" was one of his favorite phrases and when I hear it I immediately smile and think of him. I don't know if he ever scarified a cupboard with it or any other knife, but he did earn a Purple Heart in WWII and still works his Apple Orchard in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. Tom Sawyer's story is told in his book and some of by Grandpa's story is in THIS one, around page 98. 

Funny how a guy can get sentimental about a Barlow pocket knife from a children's book. 


DPN

It will cost you everything.

Even Stranger in the Age of Facebook

"After the hymn had been sung, the Rev. Mr. Sprague turned himself into a bulletin-board, and read off "notices" of meetings and societies and things till it seemed that the list would stretch out to the crack of doom—a queer custom which is still kept up in America, even in cities, away here in this age of abundant newspapers. Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it."

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

Pastor's Personal Piety, Particularly in Prayer and Pondering Scripture

I did try for at least a minute to come up with another "P"

I've been reading a work on Andrew Fuller and thus far, have enjoyed it. It isn't a traditional biography, but if you are unfamiliar with Fuller, this would be a good place to start to get an idea of who the man was and why he is important. One such glimpse of the man was a section talking about his ministry. Brewster writes, then quotes:

"The ministers of the Northamptonshire Baptist Association were a close knit group. One of the appealing aspects of Fuller’s move to Kettering was that from that central location, he could attend the association’s weekly ministers’meeting. At one of these meetings, the conversation revealed the premium Fuller and his friends placed on prayer and Scripture reading in the life of the pastor: 

"Today we had a ministers’meeting at Northampton. I preached on being Of one spirit with Christ and heard bro. Sutcliff on Divine Sovereignty from Rom. 9, and bro. Skinner on Psalm 139 Search me and try me. But the best part of the day was, I think, in conversation. A question was put and discussed, to the following purport: To what causes in ministers may much of their want of success be imputed? The answer much turned upon the want of personal religion, particularly the want of close dealing with God in closet prayer. Jeremiah 10:21 was here referred to, “Their pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord; therefore they shall not prosper, and their flocks shall be scattered.”Another reason assigned was the want of reading and studying the Scriptures more as Christians, for the edification of our own souls. We are too apt to study them merely to find out something to say to others, without living upon the truth ourselves. If we eat not the book, before we deliver its contents to others, we may expect the Holy Spirit will not much accompany us. If we study the Scriptures as Christians, the more we shall feel their importance; but, if otherwise, our familiarity with the word will be like that of soldiers and doctors with death—it will wear away all sense of its importance from our minds. To enforce this sentiment, Proverbs 22:17,18, was referred to, “Apply thine heart to knowledge—the words of the wise will be pleasant if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.”To this might have been added Psalm 1:2,3.65"

A Pugnacious Parson - Tuesdays with Timothy #26

1 Timothy 3:3 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

No striker. A pugnacious pastor will not be a profitable parson.  Or put in a not so alliterative way, your pastor should not be a quarrelsome person. A minister of grace should not be all the time looking for a fight.

An ambassador for the Prince of Peace ought to be a man of peace. A herald with a chip on his shoulder is incongruous to the Lamb of God that laid down his life for the sheep. A pastor is not to lay a hand on God's people - he isn't to be a brawler with his fists or his tongue. A man with an ungoverned temper has no business as a pastor. The adolescent bravado and the boyishness that passed for masculinity that was popular a few years ago in the New Calvinist circles was not a sign of manliness but an evident token that these men were not qualified for the pastorate. Follow the trajectory of their ministries, you can see how it played out as disastrous for the people in their churches. Christlikeness is portrayed in the book of Proverbs and proverbs is clear on how a real man should act (Proverbs 15:18; Proverbs 14:29; Proverbs 16:28; Proverbs 26:21; Proverbs 29:22; Proverbs 19:11).

Does this make the man a milquetoast? Of course not, the pastor has to be a fighter. Spurgeon once said something along the lines that God’s people are born into this world like the men of Sparta – warriors. We are born for battle and a pastor must be a fighter, not out of choice but out of necessity. He must contend for the faith. He must fight against his own lusts and sins. He must fight against his emotions and to bow the knee to Scripture (Proverbs 16:32). There are fights against heresy, and fights against the devil; but our fights are spiritual battles fought with spiritual weapons.

Shut it on Something

"And the difference between us was very deep, because it was a difference as to the object of the whole thing called broad-mindedness or the opening of the intelect. For my friend said that he opened his intellect as the sun opens the fans a palm tree, opening for opening's sake, opening infinitely for ever. But I said I opened my intellect as I opened my mouth, in order to shut it again on something solid. I was doing it at the moment. And as I truly pointed out, it would look uncommonly silly if I went on opening my mouth infinitely, for ever and ever."

GK Chesterton Tremendous Triffles

Not a Drunk - Tuesdays with Timothy # 25

A Bishop must.. not be given to wine.

You can't have your pastor be a drunk. He can't linger on the bottle and sit long at the bar. The verse prohibits the man from being one who has an uncontrollable appetite for drinking. This verse does not demand that a pastor be a teetotaler. It may not be wise for a pastor to drink wine. It might not be helpful and might be a hindrance to minister in the context in which a pastor lives and serves. This verse doesn't say whether or not there is wisdom in drinking wine, nor does it say whether it is good to drink wine, it just says the line is that a man cannot be addicted to it. My personal feelings about it and my convictions about it really don't matter here. All that matters is what God says.

In order to make wine sinful you have to redefine words and removed the plain meaning of the English language. You can’t say that when Jesus turned the water into wine, it was actually grape juice and then say when Paul said not to be given to wine, he meant alcohol. I guess you can do that, but you can’t do that without twisting words like a nervous girl does her pigtails. The Lord Jesus himself drank wine and was called a winebibber, unless you think men insulted Jesus by accusing him of drinking too much grape juice.

If I am to bow the knee to Jesus, then I have to bow the knee to His Word, whether I like it or not. Whether or not I am in agreement with other men or not. I cannot presuppose my doctrine is true and go to the book to prove it. Many in the USA grow up with the idea that wine and strong drink are the Devil’s brew and even for some to submit to the Lord’s Supper requires faith and the breaking of our will and some of our preconceived notions. I grew up in a context that any strong drink whatsoever, was considered great evil.

The problem comes from the presuppositions and the starting point. If you say “wine is evil” and start from that point and work your way out, you will find a way to justify your notion. If you start from the point “what does the Bible say about wine and what was the Biblical position of those men in the Bible” you’ll come to another conclusion entirely.

Mark 7:9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

Alcohol is not evil. This can be a shocking statement for people, but it is a Biblical one.  Alcohol is an inanimate object, it is God’s creation and is neither good nor evil of itself. The Bible does not forbid the use of alcohol, but the Word of God forbids drunkenness. The Bible, nowhere, prohibits the use of wine.  Something is only sinful if God says it is sinful. I will not be put under any person’s laws. 

What does the Bible say about wine?

Wine is a good gift.

Psalms 104:14-15  He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food  out of the earth;  (15)  And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

Deuteronomy 14:24-26  And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:  (25)  Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine  hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:  (26)  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

Judges 9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Wine is and was used in the worship of God, so it cannot be evil.

The Churches Used Wine in the New Testament (I Cor 11:20-22) and it is the cup of blessing (1 Corinthians 10:16).

Numbers 15:7  And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Exodus 29:40  And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

Leviticus 23:13  And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.

So. Long story short, a pastor can't be a drunk and has the freedom to drink wine and has the freedom to go without.