Coaches & Facilitators – BT10:  These different “functions” or “grace-endowments” are not offices for money

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The functioning grace-gifts of Romans 12:2-10 are absolutely not offices, positions, and titles as the Catholic Church and many Protestant churches have treated it as, “borrowing” from an ungodly world – these are the stones building The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit.  Paul says in Philippians 2:3 to “Do in-possibility-NO thing from eritheia selfish ambition or empty self-glorifying pride, but instead each of you should in self-humility be motivated to treat one another as more important than yourself.”  Is this what you see in most church ministries?  Wait until you work “behind the Wizard of Oz curtain!”  I’ve been in 15 music ministries!

The Greek word eritheia literally means “work for hire or merely for money, like a mercenary, acting like a mercenary for one’s own gain, even if it causes strife, placing your own self-interest ahead of the Lord’s good for others.”  The NT usage is the seeking of followers, a self-seeking pursuit of office or for worldly gain” – see the Donations & Finances, Body-of-Christ Ministry, and Teach One Another pages.  These worldly methods were actually seeping into the Church in the 1st century, and sadly we see this continued throughout Catholic and later Protestant church history!

This word eritheia is listed in Paul’s “works of the flesh that are evident” (a), and he was afraid to find this when he revisited an unrepentant church:  “I’m afraid that somehow when I come I will not find in you what I wish . . . but . . . eritheia selfish-ambition . . .” (b).  God’s “wrath and anger are to those who live in this eritheia selfish-ambition” (c).  Paul said there were “some, to be sure, who are preaching Christ through eris ‘envy, contention strife’ (d) . . . proclaiming Christ from eritheia selfish-ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me during my imprisonment” (e).  <Notes> a) Galatians 5:19-20, b) 2 Corinthians 12:20, c) Romans 2:8, d) eris comes from eritheia, e) Philippians 1:17,

There were also so-called “wise and understanding” Jewish teachers in the early Church, who were actually against “The Truth” (e), that James had to deal with:  “If you have zelos ‘zeal, boiling-over-jealousy, here of rivalry’ and/coupled eritheia selfish-ambition in your hearts, do not go about boasting and tell lies against The Truth.  Such ‘wisdom’ does not come from above but is earthly, soulish (f), demonic.  For where there is zelos ‘zeal, boiling-over-jealousy, here of rivalry’ and/coupled eritheia selfish-ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice” (g).  <Notes> a) Galatians 5:19-20, b) 2 Corinthians 12:20, c) Romans 2:8, d) Philippians 1:17, e) Jesus and His gospel, f) the adjective of psyche – see the Identity page g) James 3:13-16, h) eris comes from eritheia.

Reflections:

As Christian musicians, are we going to continue the historical error of a hierarchy of ministry offices, positions, and titles when there is no NT support for this, but actually many warnings against it?  Are we going to perpetuate the error of expected financial support borrowed from failed OT and worldly models, helping to build The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit in the Church?

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