Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? 1 Corinthians 9:1-6

There is a popular movement nowadays, especially in the Hebrews roots , to deny Paul as an Apostle, some even say he is an “AntiChrist”. Now to reject Paul as an Apostle of Christ, will lead you down a long slippery slope. Let me explain, if you reject Paul, first then you are rejecting the Word of God is inerrant, secondly you are rejecting over half of The New Testament. Remember Paul didn’t work alone, the Dr. Luke worked with Paul also. So if you reject Paul, then you are going to have to reject Luke also. So now you have to eliminate the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Do you see where we are headed here?

The fact of the matter is Paul is an Apostle of Christ (Acts 1:21) and Paul did see Christ face to face on the road to Damascus during his conversion (Acts 9:4) It’s a biblical fact that Jesus Christ choose Paul as a chosen vessel to preach the gospel and build God’s Kingdom (Acts 9:15) Just because Paul is an Apostle, doesn’t mean he or the disciples don’t deserve to have any happiness in life

Yes we all know Paul suffered greatly for The Lord, but as Paul says here “Have we not power to eat and drink?” “Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord” Paul is saying as Christians, as servants of Christ, we still can enjoy food and drink , we still have the right to enjoy marriage and fellowship with others. God gave us families and communities for a reason, enjoy the love and fellowship of your family and neighbors

Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. 1 Corinthians 9:7-10

 Tithing is another issue in the Church today, while I don’t believe the 10% tithe tax of the Mosaic Covenant applies to the Church, I do believe God loves a cheerful giver and we should support our Brethren for the Kingdom. Now of course we should beware of wolves looking to profit on God, however those who are truly soldiers of Christ need to be supported.

As the Apostle Paul said “Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox treading out the corn” This is in reference you shouldn’t avoid supporting ministries and Churches that are working for Christ. Notice Paul mentions this as a commandment from God

The bottom line is we need to support our brothers and sisters in Christ who are on the front lines in spiritual warfare. Now support doesn’t always mean financial, it can be spiritual, it can be emotional, use the freedom of Christ to do good for the Kingdom, Amen