“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters… doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:5,6).
Surely what was true of servants and their
masters applies equally to employees and their employers. Thus our
text suggests that Christians involved in secular labor are “doing
the will of God.” Of course, Paul says that we are to labor and
work with our hands “the thing which is good” (Eph.
4:28). So unless you are an abortion doctor or some such thing, when
you go to work, you are doing the will of God, and your work
clothes are just as holy in the eyes of God as the vestments that
Aaron wore when he entered the presence of the Lord, whether you wear
a white collar or a blue collar.
Is it possible then that secular employment will
earn rewards for Christians at the Judgment seat of Christ?
The Apostle Paul says yes! If such labor is done “not with
eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart,” and if it
is done “as to the Lord, and not unto men,” then Paul
unequivocally asserts “that of the Lord ye shall receive the
reward of the inheritance” (Col. 3:22-24).
There is even evidence to suggest that those
involved in secular labor who then faithfully support the ministry
can look forward to rewards equal to those given to
Christians directly engaged in the Lord’s work. God instructed
Moses:
“And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to the battle, and between all the congregation” (Num. 31:27).
When “wicked men” tried to ignore this plain
command of God (I Sam. 30:22), David insisted:
“…as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part alike” (v. 23-25).
Secular labor constitutes half of the fourth
commandment (Ex. 20:9,10), and is also a commandment of grace.
When the Thessalonians got so excited about the Rapture that they
quit their jobs in eager anticipation, Paul twice reminded them that
he had “commanded” them not to do this (I Thes. 4:11; II
Thes. 3:10). He then re-issued the command (II Thes. 3:12) and
further commanded them to “withdraw” from any who wouldn’t obey
these commands (II Thes. 3:6-10). Thus we see that working for a
living is a commandment of God given to members of the Body
of Christ through the Apostle Paul.
Finally, if you are considering entering the Lord’s
work, you should know that throughout Scripture, God called to His
service men who were already demonstrating their
faithfulness and dependability in secular employment. God called
Moses when he was tending his father-in-law’s sheep, Gideon as he
was threshing wheat, David as he was shepherding his father’s flock
and several of the apostles as they were fishing or mending their
nets.
(A 10 Minute Video)
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God Saves Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
ead
Acts 16L31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
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