Serving the Lord and preaching the gospel are related. After a person is saved, he must preach the gospel and he must serve the Lord. The more a Christian receives grace and is led by the Lord, the more he is delighted to serve the Lord.
1)“I love my master...I will not go out free” (Exo. 21:5).
A saved person wishes to serve the Lord, not out of others’ encouragement or compelling, but out of an inward motive. This motive is his love for the Lord. His love for the Lord constrains him and impels him to serve the Lord. The verse here describes a slave in the Old Testament who, due to his love for his master, would not go out free at the end of his days of slavery; he would rather be a slave to serve his beloved master. This typifies the New Testament believer who should love the Lord and serve Him in the same manner.
2)“I beg you therefore...through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice...which is your most reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).
Here the Apostle Paul begs us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to serve God. His begging us is through the compassions of God, proving that God’s compassions, which are out of God’s love, should be our motive in serving God, stirring us up to love God and to serve Him.
1)Being a slave of the Lord-“He who was called when free is Christ’s slave” (1 Cor. 7:22). To serve the Lord is to be a slave of the Lord Christ. In this verse, a slave refers to one who is sold and who has lost his freedom. Such a status reveals the significance of serving the Lord. Our serving the Lord is not to do any great work, but to be a slave of Christ to serve the Lord. Thus, in Romans 12:11, the verb used to describe one who serves the Lord is simply the verb form of the word slave and should be translated “serving as a slave.”
2)Being priests of God-“And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting...” (Acts 13:2). In the original language, ministering here refers to service as a priest; it is the same word as in Hebrews 10:11 for the “ministering” (serving) of a priest. To serve God as a priest is to handle before God all things related to the worship of God. This requires us to constantly draw near to God and stand before Him.
3)Being the members of Christ’s Body-“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body [of Christ], even as He willed” (1 Cor. 12:18). We believers are all members placed by God in the Body of Christ, and each member has its function. When we fulfill our office to minister in the Body of Christ according to our function, we are also serving the Lord.
4)Preaching the gospel-“God...whom I serve...in the gospel of His Son” (Rom. 1:9). To preach the gospel is also to serve God. This means that we bring sinners to God just as the priests brought sacrifices to offer to God. Thus, Romans 15:16 says that to preach the gospel in this way is to minister “as a priest the gospel of God.” This kind of service is valuable, and it fulfills God’s eternal economy.
5)Caring for the saints-“Console the fainthearted, uphold the weak” (1 Thes. 5:14); “Communicating to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). These words show us that we ought to care for those saints who are immature, weak, sick, needy, or in hardship. This is also a service to the Lord.
6)Serving the church:
1.As an elder-“The elders among you...shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing...according to God” (1 Pet. 5:1-2). To shepherd and oversee the flock of God, which are the saints in the church, is to serve the church and is quite valuable. This is also a service to the Lord.
2.As a deacon-The word deacon is the noun form of the verb minister. Therefore, a deacon is a serving one who takes care of affairs in the church and ministers to the saints. Such service is of a general nature and is also a service to the Lord.
3.Doing general things-Besides the duties of an elder and those of a deacon, there are many other miscellaneous tasks in the church, such as transporting guests, cleaning and arranging the meeting places, ushering, purchasing, doing clerical work, doing accounting, and serving in the business office, all of which require people’s service. These are another category of service to the Lord.
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