If Paul were to visit our churches today
If Paul were to live today.......
Paul's personal care and love for a single person!
Though Paul wrote epistles to many churches, he wrote
epistles to individuals like Timothy, Titus and Philemon. This shows the
apostle Paul cared for individuals in the same manner as he cared for the
churches of God.
These days, we find that many evangelists and other ministers did not care for
individuals because they have had their big establishments where they engaged
staff to scan their letters, emails, etc. The staff would decide for themselves
which letters or emails should be put up to their boss. If they received
letters enclosing cheques or offerings for their
ministries, the staff would immediately acknowledge such communications and
inform their bosses; then their bosses would sign the replies to such donors.
If the staff received letters seeking financial help or any other prayer
request, they dispose of such communications at their level because probably
they have received such instructions from their boss. Then the staff on their own send out printed letters with some
standard messages to those who have sent merely prayer requests.
In his epistle to Philemon, Paul reveals his love for this single person who
had refreshed the bowels of the saints including himself.
Philemon ministered to many saints of God including Paul for which Paul
acknowledged with gratitude the ministry of Philemon "toward all the
saints"(Vs.4&7).
Paul in his epistle commends his son in Christ, Onesimus,
whom he had begotten in his bonds. Onesimus, a
servant of Philemon, had defrauded the latter and forsaken him. Then Onesimus was saved through the ministry of Paul. Paul now
sends him to Philemon beseeching the latter to accept his spiritual son,
"not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the
flesh and in the Lord?" (Vs.16). Paul asks Philemon to count "me
therefore a partner" and to "receive him as myself" (Vs.17).
According to Paul, Philemon must receive Onesimum in
the same manner as he received Paul. In other words, there should not a
different yardstick of treatment for a person who had defrauded a minister of
God like Philemon.
Paul tells Philemon that he was prepared to restore to him whatever was defrauded
by Onesimus. "I will repay it; albeit I do not
say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides" (Vs.19). According to Paul,
Philemon was dearer to him than his money.
How much Paul loved Philemon and Onesimus! Paul,
though in his prison, chose to write a personal letter of comfort and of
edification to Philemon, a single person by his own hand.
Today,
the establishments of various ministers stand in the way of their reaching out
to the individual sheep whom they are supposed to tend
for. In fact, the establishments with all its modern communications have not
brought these ministers very close to their sheep but have separated them from
their fellowship. The establishments of such ministers have become corrupt thesedays because the Babylonian system has pervaded their
establishments. They are more interested in selling their products to their
sheep.
The ministry of the Holy Ghost is perfect but the establishments through which
they perform their ministries have become corrupt.
If Paul were to live today, he would have raised up many Ephaphras's,
Timothys, Philemons,
Titus's, etc. Paul would have thus raised up an army of soldiers of Christ in
every town, in every nation, in every continent, by making use of the modern
transport and communication facilities. Paul or his fellow laborers (and not
any "subordinate staff")would have been
always available to the people they ministered. They would not be needing any staff to dispose off the communications they
received from the people to whom they ministered. Each communication would be
read and personally attended to. No standard reply would be sent to them. Thesedays, we find the T.V. ministers place their hands on
the bunch of letters received from the people and pray without opening these precious
letters sent to them.
If Paul were to visit our churches today…….(I)
Paul in his epistle to the church of the Thessalonians
firstly reminds them of the afflictions through which they received the gospel
and of the spread of the gospel through them to the other places like
If Paul were to visit our churches and to inspect our ministries today, he
would find our churches and ministries as money making business establishments;
he would call our ministers as hypocrites because they quote from his epistles
but do not follow the same. The churches of today are not witnessing churches
because these churches are not involved in evangelism. Where are the ministers
of God like Apostle Paul who would transform these churches into the likes of
the
In I Thes.2:4-6, he tells them that he and his co-workers were "allowed of
God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men,
but God, which trieth our hearts.
For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of
covetousness: God is witness;
Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of
others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ".
God
has to allow a person to be put in trust with the gospel. God tries a person
for His ministry and then entrusts him with the gospel. It may take years for
God to entrust that person with His ministry.
Paul preached the gospel to the Thessalonians not "in word only, but also
in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance...." (I Thes.1:5).
Preachers
preach the gospel in flowery languages and exhibit their oratory but not in the
power of God. Oratory takes the place of the power of God. Gospel is preached
from the church pulpits as a matter of routine, at times, mostly from texts
already prepared. The power to convict the hearers of their sins and iniquities
is missing. Flattering words are used just to please the parishioners. Fear of
losing pulpits makes the preachers dilute the gospel. Gospel should proceed
from the heart of the preachers, and not from their heads. Preachers come to
the pulpit to seek recognition from men. They do not have a burden in their
hearts for the lost souls.
Preachers use the cloak of covetousness. They covet offerings from the sheep
they are supposed to serve and tend for. Evangelists expect offerings of those
people that have been blessed by their ministries. Paul made God a witness to
his apostolic ministry. If we conduct an evangelistic meeting in a town, the
servants of God in that town covet the chief places on the dais and want to be honoured by the organizers. They expect praises of men
before preaching the gospel. They make elaborate advertisements for their
products but do not allow other servants of God to sell their products.
Paul never sought the glory of men, including the Thessalonians to whom he was
ministering. All the people whom he served were equal in his eyes. He never
preferred a particular person to another person. In the churches of today, the
glory of men rules the roost. Men with good family background or rich men are
honored when commonplace people are shown the backseats. The churches do not
call "poor saints" or evangelists with poor financial background for
giving messages but prefer only "renowned" evangelists.
Paul did not want to burden the church of the Thessalonians for ministering to
him. He said in I Thes.2:9 that he and his team laboured
and travailed night and day so that they "would not be chargeable unto any
of you" for preaching the gospel of God. This is the true sign of a
minister of God. These days, we find the ministers of God covet
"service" from the people whom they are supposed to serve. They boast
that they had resigned from their secular jobs to serve God but expect
offerings from the people whom they serve. They do not work with their own
hands even in their own offices established by them for running their
ministries. They want "service" from the staff working in their
offices.
Paul boldly told the church of the Thessalonians, "Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that
believe...."(I Thes.2:10). He behaved himself as a nurse that cherished
her children and as a father that cared for his children.
Oh, how Paul loved
them! He wanted to see their "face with great desire" (I Thes.2:17).
He knew their sufferings and persecutions for the gospel of Christ. A minister
of God or an apostle should know the sufferings and the persecutions of the
people to whom he is supposed to minister. What happens to day? The minister of
God concerned does not want to know the sufferings and the persecutions of the
sheep under him but wants to tell them about his own sufferings and persecutions
in order to earn their sympathy. Paul and his co-workers desired to see the
faces of Thessalonians whereas the modern ministers expect their sheep to see
their faces.
According to Paul, "ye are our glory and joy" (I Thes.2:20). For Paul
and his team, Thessalonians were not merely believers or supporters but were
their glory and joy. In other words, Paul's glory was not his ministry or his
spiritual gifts but was the very sheep he was serving. Paul's joy did not
emanate from the offerings and the love he received from Thessalonians. His
very joy was Thessalonians.
If Apostle Paul were to visit our churches today....(II)
In the 3rd Chapter
of I Thessalonians, we find that Paul was worried about the
While preaching the gospel to Thessalonians, Paul did not promise a life of
comfort and ease to them. He told them in unambiguous terms that they had to
suffer much afflictions for the sake of the gospel. Nowadays,
preachers while preaching the glorious gospel hesitate to tell the audience
about the afflictions that they have to endure because, according to these
preachers, the audience may not accept the gospel if a mention is made about
the afflictions. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. It is
the power of God and not the oratory that saves the people. We should exhort
the audience to bear their crosses, deny themselves and follow Christ.
Recently, I watched a T.V. Evangelist in the
Evangelists mainly preach on healing and miracles and not on cross-bearing and
discipleship. The apostles during the New Testament period preached the gospel
to the people with the result that the sick and the demon-possessed were
delivered. They did not focus on healing and miracle ministries. But, miracles
and signs followed them. They did not follow miracles and signs.
Paul did not rest in his couch when he heard about the afflictions of
Thessalonians. Neither did he rest in the couch after giving a message of
comfort through his epistles. In addition, he deputed Timothy, "Our brother,
and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the
gospel of Christ", to establish them and to
comfort them concerning their faith. Timothy visited them and brought good
tidings of their faith to Paul. After receipt of the report of Timothy, Paul
and his team were comforted.
If
Paul were to visit our churches today, he would find our ministers give long
sermons to their congregations and lead them in long worship services on
Sundays. According to these ministers, ministry means giving messages,
conducting worship services, extracting tithes and offerings, and praying for
the sick in their churches. But, according to Paul, ministry means taking care
of the sheep, ministering to the poor saints and widows and edifying the faith
of the weak sheep during their trials and tribulations.
If Paul were to visit our churches today, he would hardly find these ministers
establish their sheep in their faith when the latter have passed through
afflictions. Paul would be surprised to see the pastors who are mostly
concerned about the coffers of their churches. He would not tolerate the tendency
of these pastors that condemn their sheep from pulpits instead of praying for
them and teaching them with tears.
(Job Anbalagan)