The Sacredness of the Gospel Ministry
By W. J. FITZGERALD
We are living in a time of false standards and improper measurements. Everything, even human life, is estimated commercially, and a money value is placed upon it. All religious barriers and restraints are ruthlessly swept aside by the ever-increasing tide of worldliness that is submerging the professed church of God. Those things formerly regarded as sacred have come to be treated as secular. A secular stamp prominently marks everything that presents itself to9modern inspection. The ministry of the gospel has come to be regarded by many ministers themselves as a mere profession, coping with other professions. The fact that ministers generally do not hold their service as any higher than an ordinary profession leads the laity to regard the ministry lightly. This fact not only places the ministry at a great disadvantage, but means an incalculable loss to the laity. As a people we should consider the ministry in the light of divine arrangement and elevate it to its proper plane. We should come to entertain an altogether higher ideal for the highest gospel calling. The gospel ministry is properly regarded the highest and holiest service to which mortal men are called. We must enter upon the consideration of so sacred a calling with serious feelings and a spirit of deep solemnity. We should remember that our High Priest—the chief minister of the service—is the Son of God in the heavenly sanctuary. This chief minister imparts to the calling the holiness of his own person. He sanctifies it in the fountain of his own blood, the shedding of which makes possible the ministry of the gospel. Every gospel minister should partake of the baptism of the blood and sufferings of the chief Shepherd. May that holy blood purge our hearts and minds as we contemplate this high calling. As the Holy Spirit has said, through Paul, “Seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. . . . For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.” In this passage the apostle suggests, first, that one called to this ministry, and appreciating the sacred character of the calling, would faint or be overwhelmed, if it were not for sustaining grace imparted to him. It is the assumption of a tremendous responsibility to become a minister of God. The highest and gravest responsibilities borne by those occupying chief places in statecraft or in the commercial world drop into insignificance when compared to the sacred and all-important responsibilities borne by the faithful gospel minister. He ministers not with reference to things temporal and common; but his ministry deals with things eternal and unseen. He must hear with other than physical ears, and see with the eyes of the divine Spirit. His hands must grasp spiritual and heavenly things, and pass them on to “the poor in spirit,” whose hands are ever outstretched in expectancy. His feet must tread the avenues of a sacred plane unknown to, and infinitely above, that occupied by the self-seeking and worldly-ambitious man. It is his to explore the hidden fastnesses of the spiritual realm, and bring forth ever fresh and vitalizing richness of spiritual experience. He must seek to fathom the boundless sea of infinite love, and bring to the surface precious treasure to enrich the lives of those to whom he ministers. He is either the minister of “life unto life” or of “death unto death.” What man, called to such a ministry, can refrain from saying, “Who is sufficient for these things?” Thanks be unto God, our sufficiency is not of ourselves; but is drawn by us from the “minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle.” The endowment we may receive from him is inexhaustible. No man should enter such sacred service unless under the influence of the Spirit he can truly say, “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.” He should be the possessor of such an overwhelming sense of his personal inability to bear the burdens of his calling, that he will constantly be in a prayerful and receptive attitude. But, while fully appreciating his own utter inability to accomplish the great things belonging to the ministry, he should be fully assured that he can do all things through Christ, who strengthens him. There should be such a simple, frank, straightforwardness in his handling of the Word and in his whole conduct as to command always the fullest confidence of those to whom he ministers. The preacher, first having made a practical application of the truth to his own life in personal experience, should have a mighty and constant faith in the word which he preaches. He should believe that every word of his message is absolutely essential to the salvation and spiritual development of his hearers. He should have unswerving confidence that the Word of God is the incorruptible seed of eternal life, and is able to sanctify all who receive it. It is a manifestation of the greatest irreverence for a faithless pretender to proclaim the Word of God. The heavenly hosts must stand aghast when a mere man will prostitute the sacred gospel ministry to a faithless and empty display of human wisdom. The sacred mission of the gospel ministry is to proclaim the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to a lost world. It makes no provision for the display of self. The true and faithful minister preaches Christ Jesus, not himself; he makes the Saviour the sum and substance of all his ministrations. This brings us to the thought that the minister of the gospel should be wholly absorbed in his calling. The apostle Paul, writing to young Timothy concerning the things which belong to the ministry, admonished him to give himself “wholly to them.” To perform the duties of a minister successfully will require the entire time and the best efforts of any man, no matter how talented he may be naturally. For a minister to engage in any private business enterprise “on the side” will greatly hinder his efficiency, if it does not entirely ruin his career. Especially is there danger in this direction at the present time. We are in an age when everything, even the professed ministry of the gospel, bears a deeply impressed brand of commercialism. It is well-nigh impossible not to be submerged in the commercial deluge which is flooding the land. The only safety for a minister of the gospel is to keep himself wholly aloof from ordinary business affairs. To venture at all in private business, as a line aside from the work of the ministry, is to invite failure as a minister, and may be the loss of acceptance with the Lord. The Word of God calls the minister an ambassador. An ambassador is the representative of one nation, or government, to another nation, or government. There is vested in the ambassador the entire authority of the government he represents. When he speaks or acts, it is regarded as the speech or action of his government. It is highly essential, therefore, that an ambassador be thoroughly conversant with all the affairs and with the spirit of the government he has the honor to represent. It is also most important that he possess a deep love for his native land, and a profound respect for the administration of its laws. So, as the ambassadors of the government of heaven, ministers of the gospel should be thoroughly acquainted with the laws, customs, and spirit of the heavenly kingdom. They should possess an unspeakable and unswerving love for the King; and an unquestionable loyalty to the King’s government. They should hold the reputation of the heavenly government more precious than their own lives. To be ordained as a gospel minister,—to receive credentials as an ambassador of the government of heaven,—is clearly the greatest honor that can possibly be conferred upon any man. The preparation of the heart and mind for such an honor should be most earnestly desired and assiduously sought. “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop [elder, or minister], he desireth a good work.” These words and those which follow, though doubtless referring to the local elder of a church, apply in a special sense to the minister of the gospel; for the minister is the church elder in a broader sense. What kind of man should he be? The apostle replies: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” How could words more specifically and amply define the qualifications of the man to be ordained to have a part in this sacred service? How exalted is the10standard of this holy service which we have espoused! When the Word of God lays down such requirements, in such vigorous terms, can we lightly regard the office and work of the ministry? Should we not rather pray God most fervently and devotedly to teach us more clearly and fully the sacredness of this blessed calling; and earnestly seek a more suitable preparation for the performance of its high offices? “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” and rightly and acceptably exemplify the sacredness of the gospel ministry.