Chapter 57. Reasons for the Earnestness of Faithful Ministers
strength, but beyond that: "I labour, striving according to his working." It is, as I confess, the word of God, and my labour and striving is according to His working. But even this is not enough:
"according to His working, which works in me mightily." The work of God that works in me mightily is the measure of my labour.
Again, in his letter to the Thessalonians, the first Epistle, 2:2-4, he writes: "Oh, this is the trust that is committed unto us; we are approved of God to be put in trust with the Gospel; even so, we speak, not as pleasing men, but God." We are upright and cannot be anything but faithful in this great trust committed to us. He then tells them in verse 8, "We were willing to impart our own souls, because we knew this Gospel would be so excellent."
I could be very extensive on this subject, but I will provide the foundation in just a few words.
Chapter 57.
Reasons for the Earnestness of Faithful Ministers 1. Their Love for God, 2. Their Love for Jesus Christ, 3. Their Love for the Souls to Whom They Preach,
4. A Kind of Love for Themselves
Those who have been entrusted with the Ministry of Reconciliation, such as the Apostles (having it committed to them), bear the responsibility of the Ministry of Reconciliation.
Reason 1 Firstly, what makes them so earnest is the love they have for God.
They know that this is the great glory of God; it shines most brightly in the Ministry of Reconciliation, which they are tasked with declaring to the world. Except the Lord receives His glory in this work (truly), He has His glory in nothing else by comparison.
Therefore, that they might testify to their love for God, they strive for the glory of the God whom their souls love, in what is indeed His glory and His masterpiece of all His works. This is what makes them earnest. They think, "If the Lord does not have His glory here, where shall He have His glory?" Oh! It is an infinite pity that such a great work, wherein so much of the glory of God appears, should result in the Lord receiving no glory.
Reason 2 Again, there is their dear love for Jesus Christ. Every faithful minister of Christ bears a deep affection for Jesus Christ and longs for Him to be exalted in the world. Now, there is nothing that lifts up
Jesus Christ in the world as much as the Ministry of the Gospel.
Those who have any love for Christ and know what He has done for them desire to lift up His name. Besides, the honour of this work itself urges them on, for it is the Ministry of Reconciliation, and it is an honourable task. Hence, the Apostle Paul in Romans 15 uses a notable expression for this purpose, acknowledging the honour of the work. It is the Ministry of the Gospel. In verse 20, the word in Greek,
"φιλοτιμέομαι" (philotimeomai), signifies "to love the honour of
something." Those who understand the language will recognise that it means having a deep desire for the honour of it. Paul says, "I was ambitious to preach the Gospel" (that is the phrase), and it could be translated as, "I was eager to preach the Gospel." So, Paul was not ambitious for great wealth, or to be esteemed, powerful, a Justice of Peace, a Lord, or the like (as many ministers of late have been); his ambition was to preach the Gospel, seeing that as the greatest privilege any of the sons of men could desire in the world.
Reason 3 And then again, the consideration of the Ministry of the Gospel makes them earnest out of love for their brethren and the souls of the people to whom they preach. They know that souls are utterly undone unless they come to know God in Jesus Christ and have the mystery of the Gospel revealed to them. Whatever excellences they may have in this world, whatever natural gifts or abilities they possess, they remain lost, undone, and miserable creatures forever.
It would have been better for them never to have been born or never to have breathed the air unless Jesus Christ is revealed to them.
Now, it is impossible for anyone who understands the necessity of the revelation of Christ not to be earnest and faithful in the work of the Ministry if the Ministry of the Gospel is committed to him.
Reason 4 There may be some argument from love towards themselves, for those who have had the Ministry of the Gospel committed to them.
In some sense, God permits them to love themselves, and they cannot love themselves in any way more than by being earnest in the Ministry.
Firstly, if they are faithful in the Ministry of the Gospel, and God goes along with them (as He will if they remain faithful), then oh, how many souls shall bless them! Even if, in a single sermon, they work upon a few souls, perhaps in a strange place, they shall hear those souls blessing God for them every time they enter God's presence. Now, what a wonderful encouragement this is for a minister to be diligent in the work of the Ministry of the Gospel. This is a far greater honour than to have a bishopric; to have but one soul bless God for them, whom God has been pleased to work upon through their ministry, is an immense privilege.
And this is no more than what we can rightly expect—that, if we are privileged to be the humble instruments of God to reveal Christ to any of your souls, you should always remember us before the throne of grace. That the blessing of your prayers should be upon us is a tremendous encouragement, urging us to be earnest—not merely in making a sermon but in striving to reveal the mysteries of Christ to your souls. As you bless Christ here, so, by this means, those who are faithful will be able to give a good account at the day of Jesus Christ and shall be able to behold the face of Christ when He appears, who is the great Shepherd of their souls.
He will come with His visitation one day, and when that day arrives, it will not be those who have simply read service or worn surplices every day who shall find encouragement. Rather, those who have been faithful in the work of the Ministry of the Gospel will be able to look upon His face with joy, and those to whom they have ministered will be their joy and their crown at that day. In Philippians 2:16, the Apostle exhorts the Philippians (amongst other exhortations) that they should hold forth the word of life. "Do thus and thus," he says,
"manifest the power of the Gospel in your lives, that I may rejoice in