Christian service has been on my mind the last month or so. A few of us have been discussing cleaning and maintenance needs in and around the building and the advantages and disadvantages of having a paid caretaker. Coupled with this is the weekly Fellowship Lunch with its demands of a weekly setup and cleanup. Throughout this discussion there has been a burden among the elders to treat all areas of need as an opportunity for discipleship.
The elders wish to avoid the large church model which typically employs staff and paid contractors to do the bulk of the work in and around the church. The congregation is encouraged to give their money and that money pays for the work to get done. This ends up creating a congregation of donors rather than servants. This model is more restaurant-like where you pay for your food to be prepared and your mess to be cleaned up. We want a model more akin to a family where we work together in preparation, enjoy eating together, and help each other clean up afterwards. The family model produces servants rather than consumers. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and he is our example to follow.
To help us with a biblical understanding of service, I’ve summarized 8 principles with Scriptural proofs. Please consider them while asking, “How do I—or can I—obey these commands from my Lord?”
1. Every member is a servant.
Everyone should be serving the body. It is not optional. It is not a free-will offering (like volunteering). It is a responsibility, privilege, and command of the Lord. It’s not a matter of whether you serve but how you serve.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10–11).
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:4–8).
2. All servant roles are vital.
We can’t all serve in the same way, but our service is to the same Lord and all service is for the common good. Some roles in the church are seen as more glorious or having more honor.
Many desire to teach, but few are willing to clean the bathroom. Yet do you not understand that the one who teaches and the one who cleans the bathroom serves the same Lord and is empowered by the same Spirit? Both are part of the body, and both are needed. In fact, those jobs that are hard and lowly—that seem “weaker”—are indispensable. Jesus wrapped himself in a towel, got on his knees, and washed the disciples’ feet. This was the role of a slave. Yet Jesus modeled for us how to serve in “lowly” tasks for the glory of God. If you are looking for ways to serve, these “lowly” tasks, like cleaning, always have the greatest need.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Corinthians 12:4–7, 14–15, 21–22).
3. You should serve with the time, talents, and funds that you have.
Your time, talents, and funds should be put to work for the kingdom of God.
There is a proverb that says, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” This rings true since a busy person is using their time to get things done. A slothful person squanders their time. Are you using your time well? Is your time a stewardship from God?
Similarly, the wealthy are in danger of squandering their wealth by not being generous with what God has provided. Talents and skills also can be of little value for the kingdom of God when they are solely employed to serve our own kingdom.
We all have time, talents, and resources that ought to be put to work for the kingdom of God.
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17–19).
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16).
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:16).
4. There must be a special love and priority given to the family of faith and the house of worship.
We know that the Scriptures teach that a family must care for their own. Know that this same principle is true in the church as well. If we are part of the family, then we care for the family in tangible ways. If one is working, we’re all working. We care for each other and the house we gather in to worship God. Our priorities can easily be misplaced to serve our own interests rather than the interests of others.
“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).
“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’ Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled [decorated and finished] houses, while this house lies in ruins?’ (Haggai 1:2–4).
5. We serve without self-interest but there is a great reward in serving and giving freely.
Our motivation in serving must be out of love for God and how he has so wondrously served us, saving us, and bringing us into his kingdom. Yet the Scriptures teach us that those who give are rewarded, those who serve are blessed, but those who withhold giving suffer loss. Have you experienced God’s reward in your giving and service?
“One gives freely yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want” (Proverbs 11:24).
“Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered” (Proverbs 11:25).
“You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce” (Haggai 1:9–10).
“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).
6. Our service among each other is not for profit.
God’s law forbids charging interest or profiting off a brother or the poor. We should not expect to conduct our work among the family of faith as we do in the world. Our gifts of service and help are just that—gifts. We should not expect to serve the Lord and receive earthly wages.
“You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it” (Deuteronomy 23:19–20).
“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit” (Leviticus 25:35–37).
7. Service can be encouraged, but not exacted.
Demands cannot be made to force someone to give. It is an act of love and devotion to the Lord rather than coercion or force. Service is not exacted, motivated by guilt or fear. We each serve the Lord and will each stand before him to give an account. Leaders in the church must be examples of willing service, not for monetary gain or prestige, but for Christ.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10–11).
“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1–3).
8. Service is Christ-like and pleasing to God.
When a person is born again, they are molded and transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Their lives are now a living sacrifice of service to him. This is a form of worship that is pleasing to God. Every Christian wants to please his master and does this by serving his body, the family of faith.
When we do this, our work will be salt and light in a dark and unsavory world. So let us shine a light on Christ through our deeds of faith and acts of loving service.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23–24).
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).
Conclusion
May God give you grace to live a life of service for his fame and your good. If you want to see current ways to serve, visit www.fairviewbaptistchurch.ca/serve or contact the church.
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20–21).