Acts 16:14-15 “Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. (15) And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So, she persuaded us.”
We have looked at the example of the Lord’s ministers, but what about the Lord’s saints? Although the Lord’s saints are also expected to trust Him to supply all of their needs, they are not required, as the Lord’s ministers, to forsake all to follow Him. We have already stated earlier that God provides a home for each of His children as part of their needs in this life. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that Lydia had her own home, which she made available to Paul and his ministry team to stay in. We also see from this passage that Lydia had her own business which was evidently quite prosperous, for she was able to comfortably accommodate Paul and his entire ministry team.
Romans 16:3-5 “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, (4) who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. (5) Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ.”
The two saints, Priscilla and Aquila, mentioned by Paul in the above quoted passage of scripture, proved to be a great blessing to Paul’s ministry and to the church in general. They too had their own business which was tent making (Acts 18:3), and they provided Paul with employment when he was planting the church in Corinth and was lacking in finances (Corinth was a city in the region of Achaia which is where Paul had decided to preach the gospel without taking up offerings). Evidently their business was also prosperous, for they had homes in Corinth (Acts 18:3), Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:19) and Rome, and they always opened their homes to be used as a base to start churches, which is why Paul greeted the church that was in their house in Rome.
Philemon 1:22 “But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul asked Philemon, who was a fellow believer, to prepare a guest room for Paul to stay in. The reason Paul asked him to do so, was because Paul had stayed with this believer on numerous occasions before. And so we see that Philemon also owned his own home, which he also opened to the church to hold meetings in (Philemon 1:2). Philemon was also a relatively wealthy man, because he had sent one of his slaves (Onesimus) to minister to Paul while he was being held as a prisoner in Rome. Paul had since witnessed to Onesimus and gotten him saved, and thus sent him back to Philemon, no longer just a slave, but now a brother in the Lord as well (Philemon 1:16). And so from these examples in scripture we can clearly see that many of the disciples of the Lord in the early church owned their own homes, and that it was not uncommon for some to also have their own businesses.
Ephesians 6:5-8 “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; (6) not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, (7) with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, (8) knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.”
In Paul’s day slavery was an accepted part of society, and many of the Lord’s saints were born-again while in slavery. But even though slavery was an accepted norm in society, the apostle Paul did encourage those who were called while slaves, to obtain their freedom if they had opportunity to be made free (1 Corinthians 7:21). Slaves were required to work for their owners, and in turn it was expected of their owners to take care of their slaves’ physical needs. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit counselled His saints to serve their masters as if they were serving the Lord. He said that in doing so, that the Lord would reward them accordingly. And so even in their state of slavery God would prosper them. You will recall that we saw earlier how God prospered Joseph when he was Potiphar’s slave. In today’s society slavery is no longer an accepted norm, but what has become an accepted norm are people working for companies in an employee employer relationship. And so the same principal would apply to the Lord’s saints that are employees today. The Holy Spirit continues to counsel His saints to serve their employers as if they were serving the Lord. And He continues to say that in so doing that the Lord will reward them accordingly.
James 2:5 “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”
We have seen thus far that many of the Lord’s saints were called while in slavery, and it is common knowledge that in James’s day slaves were the poor of society. And so we see from the above quoted passage of scripture that the Holy Spirit reveals to us that most of the Lord’s saints were called while being slaves, for He says that God had chosen the poor of this world, which at that time were mainly the slaves of society. This agrees with the gospel message, for our Lord Jesus said that He had come to preach the gospel to the poor (Matthew 11:5). God has not changed, for He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And so God still chooses the poor of this world to be rich in faith. That means that the vast majority of saints that are called today, will be employees and not employers.
1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 “But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; (11) that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, (12) that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.”
Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”
Although the majority of the Lord’s saints were called while slaves there were those who were called as freemen as well. In the above quoted passages of scripture the Holy Spirit counselled those who were free, to work with the own hands so that they would not lack in anything and that they would have an excess so that they could bless others. And so we see that those who were free in Paul’s day were encouraged by the Holy Spirit to find employment so that God could meet their needs through that employment. The Holy Spirit has not changed His counsel to the church and still encourages His saints to work with their own hands, that they may lack nothing and that they may have something to give to those in need.
Colossians 4:1 “Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”
As we saw in an earlier passage of scripture, slavery was an accepted part of society in Paul’s day, and many of the Lord’s saints were born-again while in slavery. But while many of the Lord’s saints were born-again while in slavery, there were some of His saints that were born-again while owning slaves themselves. Again, because slavery was an accepted norm in society, the apostle Paul never admonished born-again slave owners to set their slaves free, but rather he admonished them to treat their slaves justly and fairly, as evidenced in the above quoted passage of scripture. And as we have already mentioned, the master and slave relationship in Paul’s day has been replaced with the employee employer relationship that exists in companies today. And so just as many of the Lord’s saints today are born-again as employees, so there are those who are born-again as employers. It is these saints that the Holy Spirit continues to counsel to treat their employees justly and fairly.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. (18) Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, (19) storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
As we saw earlier, most of the Lord’s saints were called while slaves and in poverty, but there were also those who were called as freemen, who could work with their own hands. Nevertheless not all were called while poor, for as revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture some were called while being rich, and we also saw earlier that some of the Lord’s disciples, when He was on the earth, were very wealthy indeed.
1 Corinthians 1:26 “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”
But even though there were some who were called while being rich, as the above quoted passage of scripture reveals to us, there were not many saints that fell into this category. For you will recall that our Lord Jesus said that it was hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God, for they preferred to trust in their riches rather than to trust in God (Mark 10:23-25). The attitude of the rich in our Lord’s Day remains the same among the rich today, and so it is still not many rich that enter the kingdom of God. Nevertheless, God does call some into His kingdom while they are rich, and it is these saints that need to rely on the grace of God to keep them from becoming haughty and to keep them from trusting in uncertain riches, and to be rich in good works. And this God will do, for God knows what He is doing, and if He calls someone into His kingdom while they are rich, then He also gives them the grace to handle those riches in a godly manner. And so we see from the above examples that the Lord’s saints were brought into the kingdom from all walks of life, although most were brought in while in poverty. But clearly we can see from the above examples, that God always counselled His saints in every walk of life, to follow godly lifestyles so that they could prosper and not lack anything. And even those who were rich, our Lord never encouraged to give up their riches, but rather to become rich in good works. And so unlike the Lord’s ministers, the Lord’s saints have received no specific mandate in the area of finances, other than to live godly lifestyles.
Michael E.B. Maher
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