Paul: Making Tents and Decisions for the Gospel

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Paul: Making Tents and Decisions for the Gospel

While reading through Acts and Paul’s epistles, the reader can trace how Paul made decisions with the mindset of furthering the Gospel and building up the church.  The last post examined how Paul’s decision-making was influenced by the Gospel in regards to circumcision with Timothy and Titus.  Paul holds up his decision-making and examines his options in light of the Gospel.  This post will continue to analyze this theme of Gospel centrality in Paul’s decision-making in regards to Paul self-funding his ministry efforts. 

Luke in his historical account of the Apostles, records that Paul was a tent-maker by trade (Acts 18:3).  Luke recorded Paul telling the elders of the church in Ephesus that he coveted no one’s money and worked hard to support his ministry (Acts 20:33-35).  At the end of Acts, Paul is under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:16) and evangelizes at his own expense for two years (Acts 28:30).  Not only was Paul’s personal funding important to Luke, but it was also important to Paul and this fact is revealed in his letters to multiple churches (1 Corinthians, 1st and 2cd Thessalonians).  One must ask why Paul did not seek funding from the church.

Paul offers several reasons for being a self-funded minister for the Gospel.  Paul told the Thessalonians that he worked day and night in order that he would not be a burden on them (1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8).  In Paul’s impassioned statements to the elders in Ephesus, he explains that he worked hard to fund his ministry and to help others as an example (Acts 20:35).  Paul boldly told the Thessalonians that they should imitate him, Silvanus, and Timothy.  Paul explains that they were not idle, but worked hard in order to provide for themselves and others as an example to emulate (1 Thess. 3:7-10).  Paul used his trade of tent making to glorify God, and the modern believer should consider how they could best use their trade to glorify God.            

Paul working to fund his ministry is also an example in humility. Paul could have made full use of his rights as an apostle to be financially supported by the churches he was ministering too but, chose not to exercise those rights (1 Cor. 9:12, 2 Thess. 3:9).  Paul tells churches to imitate him, as he imitates Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). When Paul chose not to exercise his rights, he is imitating Christ, who though was fully divine, emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant and humbled himself to the point of dying on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).  Paul defines humility by offering up Christ’s example of humility in Philippians 2:1-11.  For Paul, humility is looking out for the interests of others over oneself (Phil. 2:4) and this is precisely why Paul worked to support himself.  Paul’s example should cause one to emerge from the fog of self-interest and discern how one’s decisions affect others.  The modern believer should have the same goal as Paul, that is to build others up in love (Eph. 4:16).

Paul toiled and labored in order to fund his missionary efforts so that money would not be an obstacle in the way of the Gospel being made known (1 Cor. 9:12).  Paul states, “I do it all for the sake of the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:23).  For Paul, making tents was a Gospel issue.  For Paul, making tents eliminated a possible obstacle in someone hearing, or believing, the Gospel.

This post is not an argument against paying ministers, for Paul lays out a biblical argument for financially supporting ministers using the Old Testament in 1 Corinthians 9.  Paul also, under certain circumstances, accepted support for his ministry (Phil. 4:14-18).  The goal of this post is to cause the reader to hold up their decisions to the light of the Gospel.  There are several concepts that can be deduced from Paul’s example, which can aid in decision making:

-          Does this help the spread of the Gospel?
-          Does this put an obstacle in the way of the Gospel?
-          Does this put others needs before my own?
-          Does this build up the church?
-          Does this glorify God?
-          Is this an example for others to follow?
     
Previous Post on Paul’s Decision Making for the Gospel:
https://musingsfromnightshift.blogspot.com/2019/12/was-paulinconsistent-with-timothy-and.html

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