The Gospel Ministry-No. 4 by Arthur Grosvenor Daniells

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 10, 1911

The Gospel Ministry—No. 4

By Arthur Grosvenor Daniells

(A synopsis of Bible studies given at the Philadelphia ministerial institute.)

For what purpose should a man enter the ministry?—There is only one true motive that should prompt him to do this, and that is to save souls, to give his life for the redemption of men and women who are lost in their sins. He can not rightly enter this work merely to follow a vocation that is pleasant and agreeable to his nature. He should not do it for the salary he may receive, nor even to build up the denomination he favors. He must enter the ministry because he feels that he is called to devote his life to the saving of souls. That must be the great compelling motive.

Jesus was the model minister, the chief shepherd, and of him we read: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. Again, we read: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. It was to save men that God gave his dear Son to die. Christ gave himself a sacrifice for the world that he might save men from eternal ruin. And that is the great motive that should lead a man to become a minister of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul tells us much about his personal experience; the change that was wrought in him, and the great purpose for which all this was done; namely, “to open the eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith.” Acts 26:18. That is the work to which every minister of Christ is called.

Now that is a great work. It is so great and so important that it demands all there is of every one who engages in it. It demands the whole man and all his time; and when we have devoted all our thought, and strength, and talents to this work, we shall then fail fully to comprehend it, and to do all that we should like to do, and that ought to be done.

I do not believe a minister can do his full duty in the cause with which we are connected, and spend part of his time speculating in business affairs. The greatness of this cause should so press upon the hearts of our ministers that its interests will occupy their whole time and attention, and that they will be on the stretch to do all that is possible for this work. As ministers, we should go into this work so earnestly that we shall have just this one great burden upon our hearts.

Paul said to Timothy: “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” 1 Tim. 4:13, 15. This is the program we should follow to-day. We should give ourselves wholly to this work. We should not divert our minds from this one great problem. This cause is so great that it calls for the full measure of every man’s ability who gives his life to it.

The minister must continually study to do his work in a way that will win souls. That must be constantly before his mind. He can not perform his work in a formal, mechanical way. While he pitches his tent, advertises his meetings, studies his subjects, and delivers his message, he must do it with the greatest care and burden that all his labors may make a favorable impression upon the people and lead them to obey the truth. If we accomplish what we should in this work, we shall have to pray much, and study the people and their conditions, so that we shall know how to reach their hearts.

We are taught by the Saviour that in our labor for souls we must be as “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” In his epistle to the Corinthians the apostle Paul tells how he endeavored to apply the Master’s counsel. He said: “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.” 1 Cor. 9:19, 22, 23.

Paul was no dissembler, no hypocrite. He did not misrepresent things in order to deceive the people. He got close to the people, that he might reason with them from their view-point. He entered into their condition as far as possible, that he might be the better able to appeal to them and win them to the truth. He said: “Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?” 2 Cor. 11:29. He became so well acquainted with them that he understood them, and sympathized with them in their struggles and in their sorrows. This placed him on vantage-ground, and helped him to raise up so many large churches in Asia.

But Paul did more than to get close to the people and secure their confidence; he put forth his highest endeavors to win them to Christ, “whom we preach,” said he, “warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Col. 1:28. To those for whom he labored, he said: “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house.” “By the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Acts 20:20, 31.

This is faithfulness in the ministry. And this is the kind of labor that counts. It appeals to the hearts of the people. It impresses them that the messenger has a message of great importance, and that it will be a perilous thing to reject it. Just such faithfulness in ministerial labor is needed to-day, and that kind will be fruitful now, as it was in Paul’s day.

Paul was a house-to-house worker. Although a great preacher, he understood the value of private, personal effort, and made it. Here is a most important lesson for all gospel laborers.

We must take the time and make the effort to meet men and women personally in their homes, where we can get close to them and earnestly entreat them to make a full surrender to God while there is opportunity. This personal work in the homes of the people will do more to impress them and lead them to obedience than the public effort can do. Many ministers fail at this point, and lose much that might otherwise be gained. A. G. DANIELLS.