The Foundational Work of Pastoral Ministry

Like every job out there the job of a pastor comes with qualifications and requirements. And believe it or not those qualifications and requirements for a pastor are found in, you guessed it, the B.I.B.L.E.

1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 lay out the qualifications of pastors (and deacons) very clearly, but those are not the only texts where the job of a minister is explained. In fact, the entirety of 1&2 Timothy and Titus, really, is directed to clergy and dedicated to the work of ministry. 1 Timothy opens up like this:

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, my true child in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” (1 Tim. 1:1-2)

This is a standard greeting in the New Testament (see Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians to name a few). It may be tempting to skip over these words and get to the "meat" of the book. That would be a mistake, because the Holy Spirit, through Paul, lays the foundation of pastoral work in Paul's opening lines. 

"An apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God,"

Let's get this out of the way - you and I are not apostles. Well, we are not like the Apostles. We have not seen the risen Lord with our own two eyes, and we were not sent out by Christ to be pillars of the church. However, we are apostolic in that we are sent by God into this world to spread the gospel. So, we are apostolic insofar as we teach what the apostles taught (i.e. the Scriptures - Old and New).

However, it's not the word "apostle" that I want to draw attention to. I'm focusing on the phrases, "of Christ Jesus" and "by command."

Of Christ Jesus

The following idea is important for all Christians - especially ordained ministers - to grasp. It is part of the foundational principle of all Christian ministry:

We are not our own, but we are of Christ Jesus.

A pastor is made a pastor by Christ, not by the pastor's own efforts or desires. Christ calls those whom he desires to be his shepherds. And in case you are tempted to think that he calls pretty swell guys - Paul is later going to mention that Jesus happens to like the worst of the worse (1 Tim. 1:12-15). 

This is part of the foundational principle of Christian ministry because it is the lens by which a minister is to do anything. "I am not my own. I do not get to say or do what I want to say and do, but only what Christ would have me say and do." 

By command of God

The idea of not being our own is further developed by what Paul says next: "by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope." Now, Paul's experience here with the "command" of God and Christ is different from the experience you and I have.

For Paul, Jesus Christ literally came to him and commanded him to be an apostle. Paul had no say in the matter. Now, that doesn't mean Paul did his work begrudgingly. He didn't drag his feet to do God's will. He was compelled by God's grace which "overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus," (1 Tim. 1:14). God saved Paul from his sin and gave him new life. Paul wanted to obey the command of God. But that does not negate the reality that God still commands Paul to do this work. 

Does God command you and me to be pastors?

If you have a sense that God is calling you to ministry, is that a command from God? 

Perhaps not in the way it was for Paul.

There is no place in Scripture that says the inner sense of a call to ministry is the same as a command from God. And if that inner sense is God's command, then if you find something else to do you will be guilty of disobeying God. But "whatsoever is not read [in the Scriptures], nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man," (Article 6, the 39 Articles of Religion).

If there is something else you'd rather do than pastoral ministry - do it! Paul and the other apostles were literally commanded by Christ. You and I have not been commanded to be ministers in the same way.

With that said, though, if you do follow this sense toward ministry, and that call is then confirmed by the church and the bishop (or other leadership in your denomination), and you are ordained a minister in Christ's church, then now you are under a specific command of God and Christ. You, like I said above, are not your own. You are made a minister by Jesus Christ, and you are now commanded to do what he would have you do. 

What would he have pastors do?

"Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Whose ministers are we? We are ministers of Christ Jesus, under the command to do what God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope would have us do. Those titles that Paul gives the Father and the Son are not arbitrary. This is our God - our Savior and our hope. 

God's work in this world and the entirety of His special revelation to us (the Scriptures) is for the purpose of salvation.

"The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost," (1 Tim. 1:15)

The Son of God paid the penalty for our sin. He put an end to sin and death once and for all through his death and resurrection. God saved us from sin through the work of Jesus Christ, therefore Jesus is our only hope of salvation (Acts 4:12).

What has all this accomplished for people? 

Far from a message of condemnation, God through Christ Jesus brings a word of "grace, mercy, and peace." These three realities are only from God in Christ.

Grace - through faith in Christ we receive God's favor and kindness.

Mercy - through faith in Christ we do not receive the wrath we deserve.

Peace - through faith in Christ we are no longer God’s enemies.

What does all this have to do with the job of a pastor?

Everything. 

We have, as Paul puts it, "the ministry of reconciliation," (2 Cor. 5:18). We do not tell people that they cannot come to the mountain lest they die (Ex. 19:12). We invite people to approach the Throne of Grace through Christ (Heb. 4:16). This is not because the former way of the law was bad, but because we now have a High Priest who has paid the penalty for our sin. He now presents us to God. We are now acceptable in His sight and can be in His presence through our faith in Christ Jesus.

The law, of course, has a place in a minister's preaching and teaching, but not the primary place. The law is to be preached and taught only insofar as it serves the purpose of pointing people to their need of Christ.

God speaks grace, mercy, and peace to His people, and He does this through His pastors in the church. 

That's why the pastor is given the authority to pronounce forgiveness at the end of confession. He doesn't do the forgiving, but he proclaims with authority that the one who does repent of their sin is forgiven by God. 

So, Pastor, what should be on your docket today?

There are many things God would have you do, but you must never forget the foundational task - to speak God's message of grace, mercy, and peace to the repentant sinner.