The Dignity of Work for Jesus and Paul
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
1/22/2012 PM
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Text:
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Mark 6:3;
Acts 18:3
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Psalters: |
261, 287, 297, 246 |
- Consider what Scripture tells us of Jesus’ life prior to His ministry at 30.
- At the age of 12 we learn some things (Luke 2:40-52; 4:16; Mark 1:35).
- The people of his home town of Nazareth knew Him as a “carpenter,” a worker in wood (Mark 6:3).
- Jesus laboring at a carpenter’s bench sanctifies all forms of legitimate work.
- Jesus is our perfect Savior because He kept all God’s commands, including “six days shalt thou labor.”
- If God incarnate toiled in a form of manual work, then He forever stamps heavenly dignity on all lawful work.
- And this shows the necessity of work as the God ordained way to obtain our temporal needs.
- It also shows that it is possible (and necessary) to have communion with God while doing the routine.
- Though a commissioned apostle, Paul deliberately left an example of work (Acts 18:3,4; I Cor. 4:12).
- In this way too Paul showed that the gospel is “proclaimed” in a lifestyle. Cf. Titus 2:9,10; Eph. 6:5-8.
- He labored with his hands as a tent-maker, though he had the right not to work (I Cor. 9:6ff, 14).
- In Paul there is no conflict between hard, manual labor and being spiritually mature (I Thess. 2:9,10).
- Further, Paul did manual labor for the benefit of others (Acts 20:34,35).
- Christ’s and Paul’s manual labor assumes that such work is honorable and noble.
- The Bible condemns specifically many forms of sin, but never legitimate manual work.
- Be aware of the perverseness of our hearts.
- May our perspective of work follow the example of Paul and of Jesus
- Our vocations are sanctified and made noble when it is done in gratitude for the Savior and to the glory of God.