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1 Corinthians 9:1-18 ESV

1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? 8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. 15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

I.PROOF THAT YOU ARE A PASTOR (1-3)
A.Paul defends his role as an apostle to the Corinthians.
B.An apostle is someone who saw the risen Jesus and was set apart by God to lead the early church. (Acts 1:15-22)

II.THE PASTOR AND HIS PAYCHECK (4-14)
A.3 Reasons Pastors should be paid for their work in the church:
1.It was the standard procedure of the church. (4-6)
2.To pay your pastors for their work is in accordance with the natural laws of the way the world works. (7)
3.Most compellingly, it’s God commanded. (8-14)

III. 3 COMMON ERRORS BY THE CHURCH ON THE PASTOR AND THEIR PAY
1.Confuse paying the pastor for possession of the pastor.
2.Thinking that you pay the pastor to perform your required obedience to Jesus.
3.Not paying the pastor enough money to cause him to serve the church well and with joy.

IV. WHAT DOES A PASTOR DO ANYWAY?
A.He preaches & prepares to preach. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
B.He prays. (Acts 6:1-5, Numbers 11:11-15)
C.He equips the saints of God to do the work of God. (Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Timothy 4:17-18)

V.CALLING OVER CHECK (15-18)
A.Pastoring is something you do because you are called by God to do it, not to earn a check from the church. (Jer 20:7-9)
B.Preaching the Gospel is a privilege, not a means to prosperity.
C.We preach the Gospel free of charge because the Gospel is a free of charge Gospel.

NEXT STEPS
1.Jesus has already made the only payment that will ever really matter.