MINISTRY

ETHICS
Authored by Dr. John Williams

A Publication of
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF CHURCH MANAGEMENT
240, Ruby Towers, Velachery Main Road, Selaiyur,
Chennai-600 073, INDIA.

C O N T E N T
I. INTRODUCTION

II. RESPONSIBILITIES TO GOD

III. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE FAMILY

IV. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE CHURCH MEMBERS

V. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE STAFF MEMBERS

VI. RESPONSIBILITIES TO OTHERS

A. THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY
B. THE WHOLE WORLD
C. THE GOVERNMENT

VII. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THEMSELVES

VIII. SOME ETHICAL ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN THE MINISTRY

IX. SOME GENERAL SOLUTIONS TO THE ETHICAL PROBLEMS

X. VIOLATIONS OF SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES IN TO-DAY’S MINISTRY AND
CHRISTIAN LIFE STYLE

X. CONCLUSION

I. INTRODUCTION
A published report of a survey of pastors conducted by the Fuller Institute
of Church Growth, United States of America, indicated the following :

90% of pastors work more than 46 hours per week.

80% believe that pastoral ministry is affecting their families negatively.
33% say that "Being in the ministry is clearly a hazard to their family".
75% have reported a significant crisis due to stress at least once in their
ministry.
50% felt unable to meet the needs of the job.
90% felt they were not adequately trained to cope with the ministry
demands placed upon them.
40% reported a serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.
70% of pastors do not have anyone they would consider a close friend.
37% have been involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in
the church.
70% have a lower self-image after they have pastored than when they
started and wonder why pastors today are burning out at a faster rate than
ever.
Something must be done about this !

It seems like that the moral and ethical standards are lowering in these last
days in which we are living, and even among those in the sacred ministry.
Could it be because of the pressure they go through in the ministry or is it
just a spiritual and moral degradation ?

While ministries and those in different kinds of ministries have a

responsibility to set and observe high moral and ethical standards and
codes of behavior, it seems necessary in today's context, to discuss the
need of some ethical standards for ministers and ministries. The Bible
says that only God is good, meaning that no man on this earth is
absolutely good and perfect like God. Further the Bible says that we
should not call any one as "good". As we read through the Old Testament,
we find references made only to a few selected men as just, perfect or
righteous. For example, the Bible says in Genesis 7:9, that Noah was a
just man and perfect in his generation, and that Noah walked with God.
During the days of Abraham, it is mentioned, that the sins of the people
living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were so grievous that God
decided to destroy those two cities. But Abraham pleaded with God not to
destroy those cities for the sake of even a few righteous people. Ultimately,
God told Abraham that He would not destroy those cities even if there
were ten righteous men. Eventually God destroyed these cities with fire
and brimstone because He did not find even one righteous man except
Lot. Before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent His angels to
escort Lot and his family out of that area. A few more Bible characters
have been specifically identified as God's servants in the Bible may be
summarized as follows : Righteous, Just and Perfect men such as Joseph
and Job.

The word good has probably more shades of meaning than any other word
in the English dictionary. In other words, the word "good" means and
includes several characteristics, qualities, nature, attributes such as
upright, virtuous, righteous, worthy, exemplary, conscientious, blameless,
guiltlessness, moral, right, decent, skillful, admirable, kind, lovable,
laudable, obedient, correct, unspoiled, generous, unadulterated, excellent,
wonderful, marvelous, great, fine, clean, terrific, tremendous, neat, kind
and sociable. .

In this book an attempt has been made to identify the spiritual, moral and
ethical standards that God expects mankind to maintain in their family life,
public life, personal life and even in their ministries as stated in the Bible.
The problem of man from the time of his creation was sin in other words
disobeying God's laws and commandments. The Bible says when God
created the whole world and all the living creatures and when He looked at
them everything looked good and beautiful. God created the first man
Adam in His own image and after His likeness.

Even though God created man out of cosmic dust, He breathed into his
nostrils, His spirit, and man became a living soul. So when man was
created he was just perfect in every sense of the word. God had given him
the ability to obey or disobey God and to choose between what is good
and evil. He was endowed with a moral conscience to discern between
good and evil or right and wrong. If God had not given man the freewill, he
would be like a puppet or a robot. This extraordinary ability to exercise his
own freewill to do as he pleases puts him in some respects in the status of
the Son of God. In other words, man is inherently good by nature. Even
though he may have been corrupted by evil influences, he still has the
capacity to change and become good. But this is possible only when he
truly repents for his sins and reconciles with God and lives a holy and
righteous life, maintaining a close fellowship and communion with God.

In this book we have discussed the moral and ethical responsibilities of

those individuals who represent or serve God in any capacity either
through a church or a para-Church or a Christian organization. The
principles that have been discussed in this book will be applicable to a
wide range or spectrum ministries. Those who represent or serve God are
required and expected to maintain a higher spiritual, moral and ethical
standard in their personal lives and also in their ministries, compared to the
standard expected of an average Christian. Those working in the
ministries are supposed to serve as real role models to other Christians as
well as to others in the world. They cannot simply say "do not look at me
but look at Jesus Christ, Paul, Peter and others". They should reflect
Jesus Christ in their own lives, so that the people can see Jesus in and
through them.

1. What is Ministry ?
Some examples of ministries are enumerated below :
a. Churches
b. Evangelistic Ministry
c. Prophetic Ministry
d. Teaching Ministry
e. Apostolic Ministry
f. Pastoral Ministry
g. Healing Ministry
h. Deliverance Ministry
i. TV and Radio Ministry
j. Crusades and Gospel Meetings
k. Children's Ministry
l. Film Ministry
m. Literature Ministry
n. Ministry through Social Work
This is only a short list of some major categories of ministries. It is either
too difficult or impossible to compile an exhaustive list of all kinds of
ministries. The common denominators in any ministry will include
representing God, communicating the truths about God, making an attempt
for man to reconcile with God, carrying out the Great Commission of God
and doing the ministries of the Lord Jesus Christ, either directly or
indirectly.

2. What is "Ethics”?
The term ethics is used in different contexts including business,
professions, trades, etc. Most organizations have their own code of ethics.
The word ethics means and includes moral, social and spiritual principles,
practices and values. Generally when we deal with the subject of ethics
we do not include responsibilities beyond what the law requires.
In this book an attempt will be made to deal with the ethical principles in
other words, the moral obligations of those in the ministry and particularly
leaders in Churches and in other Christian organizations towards the
following categories of people.
1. Moral obligations and responsibilities to God.
2. Moral obligations and responsibilities to the family.
3. Moral obligations and responsibilities to the church member.
4. Moral obligations and responsibilities to the staff members.
5. Moral obligations and responsibilities to the people in the community.
6. Moral obligations and responsibilities to the whole world.
7. Moral obligations and responsibilities to the government.
8. Moral obligations and responsibilities to themselves.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES TO GOD

WHY DO WE HAVE A MORAL OBLIGATION TO GOD?
It is very important to realize that we have some obligations to God. Some
of the reasons for such obligations are given below :

1. Because our God has created us :

God has created us for a purpose, and man is the highest form of creation.
He has created us in His own image, and after His own likeness. The
Bible says that, He has created us even above the order of angels. John
1:12 says that, as many as received Him to them, gave He power to
become the sons of God. Further, God has imparted His own nature to
man, which gives him the potential to become like Him. In other words,
God has given man some extraordinary abilities, and has even shared with
him a part of His own glory. He has created us to love and to fellowship
with Him. When God put Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, he visited
them daily, and had a close fellowship and communion with them, because
God created man as an extra special creation to share with him His own
attributes and because of that even angels were jealous of man. For these
reasons, man must be grateful to God, and he must respect and honor
God. He cannot just take everything for granted. He must be thankful to
God for His action of creation or mankind.

2. Because God loves us :

It is important to note that God created man to love and to be loved. John
3:16 says that God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son,
that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus demonstrated His love to mankind by leaving all His glory and
majesty; condescending to this earth in the form of a man, and dying on
the cross for the salvation of mankind. Jesus shed His blood on the cross
to forgive the sins of this world and He went about healing all manner of
sickness, casting out demons and doing good everywhere. Anyone who
has read the story of the life of Jesus Christ will not doubt or question the
unconditional and amazing love of Christ. The Bible says that He
purchased us not with silver or gold but with His precious blood.
Therefore, we not only belong to Him but also we are morally obligated to
follow and serve Him as He has saved us from the penalty of sin, and has
given us the assurance of eternal life, and we have become bond slaves to
Him. What we can do for Him during our short lifetime is only the least we
can do for Him in return for His great love.

3. Because God desires to fellowship with us:

God craves for the fellowship with man because He has created him in His
own image and in His own likeness. As a matter of fact, God wants to
dwell in the hearts of men and have continuous fellowship and communion
with man. God is a Spiritual Being and He has created man also as a
spiritual being. While man has a physical body and a soul which consists
of his mind, will and emotion, the real man is the spirit that is within him.
This spirit of man has the ability to fellowship with God. It is possible for
man to build a close and intimate fellowship and friendship with God. Our
God wants to be our best friend. While we have the ability to please Him
through our love and fellowship with Him, we also have the ability to grieve
Him. Therefore, we have a moral obligation to fellowship with Him, and as
a matter of fact, this is more of a privilege than of obligation.
WHAT IS OUR MORAL OBLIGATION TO GOD?
We have clearly stated already that we have some moral obligations and
responsibilities to God because He created us, demonstrated His love to
us and desires to have fellowship with us. Now the question is, what is our
specific moral obligation and responsibility to Him.
1. To worship and praise Him :
It is important that we worship God in truth and in spirit, and to continue to
praise and adore Him for dealing with us so lovingly and blessing us, so
bountifully. God has created within man a desire to worship God, and
when he does not worship Him, there will be a spiritual vacuum within him.
Praise and worship gives man a sense of release from deep within. As the
Bible says God is worthy of all our praises, He needs to be worshipped. It
also says that, hosts of angels are worshipping God in heaven and bow
down before Him continuously.

2. To serve Him :
While it is important to worship and praise God, it is equally important to
serve Him. There are a number of ways in which we can serve God. God
expects everyone to continue the very works that Jesus did. God also
places upon the lives of men, a special calling to serve Him in a particular
way. Depending upon this calling, one may serve Him as an apostle,
prophet, pastor, evangelist or teacher. These ministries are referred to as
the five-fold ministry. The Bible also has made references to the office of
bishop, deacons, elders, help ministries and the ministry of administration.
In olden times, God ordained and anointed many men to be kings,
prophets and judges. God called some men and gave them some special
missions. God told Noah to make an ark and take in it pairs of every living
creature, before He destroyed the whole world with a great flood. God told
Moses, to lead His children from the captivity of Egypt. He further told
Moses to build a tabernacle in the wilderness for His people. God told
King Solomon to build a temple for His glory. These are just a few
examples of the special assignments that God gave men to do. Serving
God in some fashion or capacity is not an obligation but a privilege and
honor.

3. To be a witness to Him :
Every believer is expected to be at least a witness for the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Bible says that we must be a light to the world and salt to the
earth. It is the duty of every believer to share the love of Jesus Christ with
others and to have a special burden to share the gospel of salvation, which
we can receive through Christ and give it to everyone that is lost eternally,
without the hope of salvation. To be a witness, is to proclaim the gospel
and to win souls for Christ.

4. To enter into a covenant with Him :

God not only desires us to worship and serve him in a general way, but
also is very keen that we enter into a covenant with Him. In other words,
He wants us to make a commitment to do something very special for Him
and for the cause of His Kingdom. We can read in the Old Testament
about the special covenants that God made with special individuals and
the whole Bible covering a span of several thousands of years that can be
viewed as different periods of dispensation of old and new covenants that
God had with mankind, in general. Even today we enter into different
kinds of contracts with the people of this world to receive some products or
some services when we mean business. God is not interested in a vow
made by man that he does not keep. In other words, God expects man to
make a serious commitment to God when he really wants to serve Him or
do something for Him. In return, for this promise, God is more than willing
to bless him and meet his needs even beyond his imagination or
expectation. God will never be a debtor to anyone. The Bible also states
that, what God has promised, He will also perform. The Bible says further,
that heaven and earth may pass away but His Word will never pass away.
So the word that we give, the commitments that we make and the
covenants that we enter into with God are very important.

5. To obey His laws:

When God created this universe, and particularly planet earth, He set
some laws in motion and these laws, regulate and govern the nature. If we
violate these laws, the order of nature will be disturbed and will result in
chaos and disaster. When God created Adam and Eve and put them in
the Garden of Eden, He gave them a law. When man violated God's laws,
he brought a curse upon himself. First of all it is very important to
understand the importance of observing and obeying God's laws. These
laws of God deal with the real issues of life. The reason why we are
required or even commanded to follow these laws is to ensure safety,
protection and blessings to ourselves and to prevent us from facing some
serious consequences due to the violation of these laws. In other words,
while obedience of God's laws is considered as an act of honoring or
fearing God, these laws have been given to us for our own good and
blessing. For an example, man is not supposed to work on the seventh
day of the week. By not working on the seventh day man's health is going
to be protected, God does not really gain anything. Man has been warned
not to eat the flesh of certain kinds of birds and animals. The reason why
this law is given in the Bible is, that these birds and animals are unclean,
because God has created them as scavengers to keep the environment
clean. When man consumes something that is dirty, it will only be harmful
to his own body and will result in some health problem and defeat God's
purposes and plans for man. For this reason God has imposed this law
upon man and it is our moral duty and moral obligation not only to observe
them, but also to be thankful to Him for the warning He has given us
concerning the same.
6. To honor and fear Him:
Because God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient He must be
honored and feared. While God is a just God, He is also a holy and
righteous God. God cannot and will not tolerate any sin or evil. The Bible
says that we must be holy as He is holy. Throughout the scripture, it is
reiterated that we should honor God and fear Him. How should we honor
God and fear Him is also mentioned in the Bible explicitly. Again the Bible
says that we will receive a special blessing, when we honor and fear God.
God is so awesome and majestic, He must be revered, honored and
feared. Further the Bible also describes Him as a consuming fire. During
the final judgment the Bible says that His wrath shall be poured upon
sinners. We have a moral obligation and a duty to fear, respect and honor
God in every way and not offend or sacrilege God or anything pertaining to
God.

7. To build His kingdom:

Every Christian and servant of God has a moral obligation to build the
Kingdom of God, which is the body of Christ. Every living stone that is
added to the Kingdom of God is a soul won for Jesus Christ. Jesus came
to destroy the works of the devil, and to establish His spiritual Kingdom on
this earth. God's Kingdom is described in the Bible as a Kingdom of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. He has also made a way
for everyone to enter into this Kingdom by being born again and to live in it
as a citizen of heaven, enjoying all the privileges and rights of a citizen and
to fulfill his moral and legal obligations. Jesus established his spiritual
kingdom on this earth and He commissioned his disciples to extend this
Kingdom all over the world, so that everyone can also enjoy the same
blessings that they enjoy as children of God. The task of building the
Kingdom of God would also include destroying the works of the enemy,
building churches, evangelizing the world, healing the sick and setting the
captives free. God's Kingdom is the fastest growing Kingdom on this earth
and the Bible says that the gospel of this Kingdom shall be preached in all
the world and then the end shall come. The greatest joy that anyone can
have is to build and extend God's Kingdom by overcoming the power of the
enemy and winning more souls. While it is an obligation to build God's
Kingdom it is a great privilege and a joy to do it.

8. To be sensitive to God and to flow with Him:

Every minister of the gospel is expected to be very sensitive to the voice of
God, and to literally flow with the Holy Spirit. One of the difficulties that
many ministers of the gospel experience is to discover God's will for their
lives and to have a clear vision about the ministry that God has given
them. It is our duty to seek and find God's will and to have clarity of the
vision that God has imparted to us. Unless and until we are absolutely
certain and clear about God's will and the vision for the ministry, we will
have struggles and lack of peace both in our personal lives and in our
ministries. Another moral obligation that ministers have is to be sensitive
to the needs of the people around them and to minister to them. God
wants to communicate with everyone of His servants constantly and God
speaks to them in several ways as follows: through an audible voice;
through desires, through ideas; through an inner witness in the spirit;
through the Word of God; through prophesies; through dreams and
visions. One has to build one's relationship with God in such a way that
there would be constant communication between him and God. These are
all scriptural ways by which God communicates with man and we have
ample evidence about it in the Bible to confirm the same. When God gives
us an idea, thought, desire, dream, vision or prophecy, it can be
recognized whether it is from God or not, by asking the following
questions:
1. Do I have absolute peace about it ?
2. Do I really believe that it is a communication of God ?
3. Will this be a blessing to someone ?
4. Will this help to build God's kingdom ?
5. Will this bring glory and honor to His name?
6. Is this consistent with the Word of God ?
7. Do I have a growing desire to do it ?
8. Is it something good ?

If the answer to all of these questions are positive, it means, that it is a

communication from God and that we can pursue it. When we do, we
must do the very best that we can within our ability and power and at the
same time not to worry about it. God always likes to work in partnership
with us and we are only co-laborers with Him. Therefore, He assumes
greater responsibilities when it comes to doing the ministry. Most of the
times what we are expected to do is very simple and easy and He is there
to do what is difficult or not possible for us to do. If at all there is defeat or
failure in our attempt to do what God has called us to do, it is generally on
the part of us and not on the part of God. But generally, the ministry that
God expects us to do is something like a joint venture or a co-operative
effort of both God and man. Therefore, we have a moral obligation to step
out by faith and do what God has commanded us to do, in general, as well
as any special assignment that He gives us from time to time, which God
communicates to us in variety of ways as discussed above. God has
chosen and ordained us to do His work on this planet. God does not and
will not do anything on this earth except through human instrumentality.
When we sow the seed of God's Word, he causes the seed to grow and to
bear the fruit. We cannot make the seed grow, but we can sow seeds. We
cannot save souls but we can preach the gospel. We cannot heal the sick,
but we can lay hands on the sick and pray. We cannot cast out the
demons but we can command the demons in the name of Jesus, to leave
them.

God cannot feed the hungry unless we give food to them. Only in
extraordinary circumstances God provides food in supernatural ways. God
has provided manna supernaturally to His children daily when His children
were traveling in the wilderness for many years. He also fed Elijah by
sending bread and flesh twice daily through a ravens. But ordinarily He is
dependent on the prosperous people here on earth to feed the poor. God
expects us to be His feet to carry the gospel; His hands to give to the
needy and the poor; His mouth to preach His gospel; His eyes to see the
needs of the people; His ears to hear the cry of the sick and the suffering;
and His heart to be sensitive to the needs of the people around them and
to move with compassion and love to help them. This is our moral
obligation. Because God has blessed us so bountifully, it is now our duty to
be a blessing to other people.

9. To please Him :
The Bible says that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews
11:6). Psalms 69:31-30 says that God will be pleased more with our
praise than with our offering of an animal. Proverbs 20:23 says that
dishonesty displeases God. After Jesus Christ was baptized in the river of
Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and a voice came
from heaven saying "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased".
God was pleased with Jesus Christ one hundred per cent because He
obeyed Him all the time. Jesus said that He came to do the will of His
Father and that was His primary goal. Because Jesus Christ was always
in the center of the will of his Father, His Father was pleased with Jesus.
So also if we constantly seek God's will and do it, God will be pleased with
us. God is pleased when we trust Him one hundred percent, obey Him,
serve Him, have fellowship with him, praise him, bring offerings that are
acceptable to Him, and love our neighbors as ourselves etc. We have to
constantly examine ourselves and see if we do anything that will displease
God and we should immediately correct ourselves.
 III. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE FAMILY
WHAT IS OUR MORAL OBLIGATION TO OUR FAMILY ?
Every minister of God has some moral obligations to his immediate family.
In terms of priority he must put God first and his family second and his
ministry next. The Bible says, can any one rule the house of God if he
cannot even rule his own house properly ? Every minister should first
minister to the needs of his family. He must play the role of a priest in his
own family first. If He is not sensitive to the needs of his own family
members and if he has no love or burden for his family members, how can
he have love and burden for other people ? There are many ministers who
are so much interested in their ministries that they tend to neglect their
own family even when it comes to spending money. They may be willing
to spend most of their money for the ministry but they are reluctant to take
care of the financial needs of their own family first. Several ministers are
being accused by their own wives of neglecting their needs and not
spending enough time with their family.
The specific responsibilities of the servant of God to his family are
discussed below :

1. To love and to fellowship with the family members :

God created Eve to be a helpmate for Adam. God felt that it was not good
for man to be alone. Family is the plan of God. Family is an institution
created by God so that the members can love and fellowship with each
other and have their basic social and security needs met. Man is
gregarious in nature and one of his psychological problems is loneliness.
When a person has a good family life he cannot be lonely. As a matter of
fact for anyone, his own home must be the greatest or the most exciting
place to be in. The head of the family should not only love his family and
fellowship with them in general but also he should build a beautiful and
loving relationship with every member of his immediate family, particularly
with his wife, sons and daughters. Every member of the family must feel
and know this love that the head of the family (husband and father) has for
them individually. The immediate family members must be the best friends
of the servant of God next to God. If he has to go away from home to have
a good time with his friends, staff members or any one that he ministers to,
then there is a problem.
2. To provide for their needs :
Another important responsibility of the minister is to provide adequately for
the needs of his family, according to his status and standard of living. He
has a moral and legal obligation to fulfill this responsibility to his family. As
pointed out earlier, many ministers today are guilty of fulfilling this
responsibility. Many pastors' wives express the fact that their husbands do
not give even a small amount of money every month as an allowance or
pocket money which they can call their own and spend as they please.
When the husband prospers financially and when God blesses his ministry
it is important that he shares fairly and equitably these financial blessings
with his family members.

3. To be a spiritual leader :
Every minister of the gospel should be a preacher, Bible teacher and a
spiritual leader, first in his own home. He must take time to teach the Word
of God to his own family members, pray and minister to them. There must
be a family altar in his own house. The members of his own family must
respect him first as a spiritual leader or priest and then as a husband or a
father. He must be spiritually mature and the members of the family should
see in him the qualities and characteristics of Jesus Christ. The family
members must first accept him and respect him as a spiritual leader before
he is recognized as such by the members of the congregation or the
people that he ministers to, as well as the members of the local
community. Every minister should tell his own family members as Paul
said in Corinthians 11:1, "Follow me as I follow Christ". The true leader will
not demand respect but he will command respect.

4. To rule the house well :

The Bible says that how can anyone rule well the house of God, if he
cannot rule even his own house properly. Every servant of God must take
time and interest in keeping his house in order, manage the affairs of the
house properly, play the role of priest in his own house, handle the
finances properly with a budget, make sure that there is cordial, peaceful
and harmonious relationships between the members of his household, that
he be accepted as the leader and the head of the house, be Christ-like and
a good role model for other members to follow. The home is a training
ground for everyone including the father or the head of the house. If the
servant of God fails miserably as a leader in his own house he cannot be
an effective leader in the church or in any other kind of ministry.

5. To use the home as a training ground for spiritual growth:

The minister of the Gospel, as well as the members of his household, must
recognize the fact that their home is the training ground for their spiritual
growth. This fact must be communicated clearly by the servant of God to
his family members and he must set an example to the other members of
the family. Home is the place where every member should learn to love
the other, share with others, make sacrifices for one another, be patient
when provoked, be gentle, be meek, help and co-operate with other, have
peace with every member of the family, do good to each other, exercise
self control in areas where they are tempted. If the servants of God does
not make a serious effort to build his Christian character, grow spiritually at
home and demonstrate these qualities to the other members of the family,
he cannot be a spiritual leader to the outside world and set an example to
others.

6. To serve as a role model for our family members :

The servant of God has to set a standard for the other members of the
family. He must serve as a role model. How he behaves and conducts
himself in different situations at home will have a great impact and
influence on the rest of the family members. As Paul said in I Corinthians
11:1, the servant of God should be able to tell other members of the family
"Follow me as I follow Christ".

The servant of God who claims to be a follower of Christ and a leader of

the church has an awesome responsibility to set an example at home for
the rest of the family members to follow. It is wrong and unjustifiable to
make statements such as, "the Lord is not finished with me yet" or "do not
look at me but look at Jesus" or "I am not perfect but I am just forgiven".

7. To help our children grow spiritually :

Every servant of God has a moral and a social responsibility and obligation
to nurture and raise his children in the ways and admonition of the Lord.
The Bible says that if we would teach our children to walk in the ways of
the Lord, they will not depart from it when they grow old. The spiritual
foundation that we lay for the growth and development of our children will
determine and control the degree of their spiritual growth and development
in the future. What good is it when hundreds of souls are saved through
our ministry while our own children are not saved but go astray.

8. To make our home like a heaven on earth :

When Jesus came to this earth he established His kingdom of joy, peace
and righteousness. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they lost the
paradise and were driven out of the Garden of Eden, but when Jesus
came He made a way for men to regain the paradise that was lost. Jesus
not only put heaven back on earth but also made a way for man to enter
into this spiritual kingdom (heaven) and to live in it. The servant of God
has a responsibility to make his home like heaven in terms of peace,
happiness, supply of needs of the family, maintenance of justice and
fairness, loving relationship with each other. He should not allow or
tolerate any work of the devil to creep into the house in any form or fashion
such as hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness, strife, division, jealousy, envy,
pride, worry, fear, doubt, confusion, fighting, rudeness, anger, impatience,
evil and idolatry.

9. To give Godly counsel and to pray for the family members:

A preacher or a servant of God should first be recognized because he is a
man of God. The servant of God should as a preacher or as a servant of
God in his own family. The members of his own house-ho ld should fear
and respect him, command respect in his own house and not demand
respect by the virtue of the fact that he is a servant of God, a leader of
the house, a father or a husband. He must make himself available to the
family members for giving Godly counsel to them as and when they need
some guidance or counseling. When the children run into some problems
in their life they should not go to the ungodly or immature friends or
relatives to seek counsel. The children should realize that their father who
is the servant of God is the most qualified, competent and concerned
person to guide and lead them in times of crisis and calamity. When it
comes to praying for some needs or problems, the members of the family
should go to the head of the house first. Even at other times the servant of
God should take the initiative in having a family altar and pray for the family
members daily and on other important occasions. Sometimes the servants
of God are so busy that they have no time to spend with their own family
members in prayer.

10. To educate our children and to teach the Word of God to the
family members:
The most important responsibility of the servant of God in regard to his
own family members is to take time to teach them the Word of God. The
primary responsibility to teach the children the Word of God does not rest
with the church but with the head of the family. What good is it if the
servant of God is a world renowned Bible teacher, an author of many
Christian books but has not taken time to teach his own children the Word
of God. The servant of God has a moral obligation to impart the
knowledge of the Word of God to his own children, perhaps even just
casually and informally as they interact with them daily and also when they
have their family prayers.
 IV. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE CHURCH
MEMBERS
The Bible says that a shepherd should be willing to lay down his life for the
sake of the sheep. The moment a persons steps out to be a servant of
God he assumes some moral obligations, which are stated below:

1. To feed and nurture them spiritually :

The primary responsibility or obligation of every minister to the people he
ministers to is to provide the spiritual help they need. This will include
helping them to grow spiritually, teaching them the Word of God, discipling
them, giving them God's counsel, feeding them with the Word of God,
dealing with and solving the spiritual problems they have. The Word of
God is referred to in the Bible as milk and meat. For the members of the
church to grow spiritually, it is essential that the pastor gives them an
adequate supply of the Word of God on a regular basis, and makes sure
that the members assimilate them and get the nourishment that they need
spiritually, to sustain their spiritual health and the strength and even to
grow and mature spiritually. The ministers and particularly the pastors
have the responsibility to satisfy the spiritual hunger and thirst of the
members and to cause them to grow spiritually so that they may become
stronger Christians.

2. To serve and minister to them :

Another important obligation of every servant of God is to be sensitive to
the needs of the people in their ministry and to minister to them
immediately without any undue delay.
When we say "ministry" it means serving others who are in need. A
minister is a servant of God. Jesus said that he did not come to be
ministered unto, but to minister. So also every minister should take the
form of a servant. Jesus Christ went about doing good everywhere
(Acts10:38). During His ministry, He fed a multitude of people, healed all
manner of sickness, opened the blind eyes, healed the deaf ears, made
the lame to walk, cleansed the lepers, encouraged and comforted the
sorrowful, set the captives free, cast the demons, raised the dead, forgave
the sinners, etc. At the last Supper, Jesus literally washed the feet of His
disciples and then served them a meal. It is important that every servant
of God must be willing to humble himself and take time to serve and
minister to the needs of the sick, needy, poor, troubled, discouraged,
hurting, and sorrowful people.

3. To disciple them :
Another moral obligation of those who are in the ministry is to disciple
those whom they minister to. Discipleship simply means training and
helping others to grow spiritually and to become more and more like them.
In order to disciple others, one should take interest in them and make a
commitment to do their very best to impart to them all they have learned
and gained over a period of time, in terms of spiritual truths, spiritual power
and spiritual qualities. Jesus discipled 12 men during His ministry, During
the three and a half years of His ministry, He gave them an opportunity to
learn from Him everything that He was doing by way of ministry. He took
interest to teach them spiritual truths and to impart to them His power. He
encouraged, challenged, gave them assignments, and finally
commissioned them to go into all the world and continue the very works
that He did. The Bible says that disciples cannot rise above their masters
but they can become like them.

Unless a disciple is interested in being a disciple and unless the minister

takes interest in discipling him, the discipleship training program will not be
a success.

4. To love and to care for them :

Another important quality, characteristic or obligation of the ministers is to
have a genuine love and concern for the people they minister to. They
should really care for them. Ministry is not a trade profession or occupation
by which one can make a living. It is not a job to make money. Money
should not be the motive for entering into the ministry. Money will be a by-
product or a consequence. The Bible says that, whenever Jesus saw
somebody in need He was moved by compassion to minister to them. In
the ministry, there is no substitute for genuine love and compassion. Today
there seems to be a glamour for ministry because it is possible for a
person in a ministry to be in the limelight, to be popular and to be in a
position to have a lucrative income. Jesus spent most of His time with the
sinners, poor people, out-casts and down trodden. Today there is a
tendency for those in the ministry to associate themselves more with the
rich, powerful and those in the higher echelons or strata of the society.

5. To be willing to make some sacrifices for them :

It is important that every servant of God truly loves and cares for the
people they minister to. In order to fulfill this responsibility one should be
both willing and prepared to make some sacrifices for them. The Bible
says that the shepherd must be willing to lay down his life for his sheep.
Many Christian servants of God may express their willingness to lay down
their life for Jesus. But the question is whether they are willing to make
sacrifices for those whom they serve or minister to. Dying for someone
else is the utmost sacrifice that anyone can make. Very seldom a servant
of God may really have to give his life for someone he ministers to. But
there will be many situations in his ministry to make different kinds of
sacrifices for them. At times such sacrifices may include spending time and
spending money. There cannot be any true love without sacrifice. The
Bible says in John 3:16, that God so loved the world that He gave his only
begotten Son. Jesus loved the sinners so much that He died for them on
the cross. Loving is giving and giving is a sacrifice. One's love can be
measured only in terms of the sacrifices that one makes for others. Loving
is serving and we cannot serve others without making some personal
sacrifices. Sacrifice is the cost that one has to pay to serve or minister to
others. It is very important that all the servants of God count the cost
before they go into the ministry. The cost may be very high but we should
realize at the same time that the rewards will be much greater.

6. To have a real burden for their needs :

One of the essential qualities of the servants of God is to have real burden
and zeal for souls and for ministering to their needs and particularly for
their spiritual needs. They should realize that if they do not care for their
spiritual needs, they not only will suffer during this life but also will undergo
ever-lasting punishment. The thought that many souls may perish
eternally without hope should be the motivating factor for the servants of
God to be in the ministry.
7. To be sensitive to their needs :
Normally the servant of God may respond in some way to the requests of
those he ministers to. Even when needs or problems are reported, one
may respond reluctantly or slowly. Strictly speaking the servants of God
should consider that as an opportunity to minister and respond swiftly
and willingly. The servants of God must be sensitive to the needs of
others, and should not only discern them quickly but also respond to them
immediately. They should develop a system of communication to know the
needs and the problems of the people they serve. In other words they
should take the initiative and go out of their way to minister to their needs.
The Bible says in Acts 10:38 that Jesus went about doing good
everywhere. He was looking for people with needs and ministered to them.

8. To do the ministry of Jesus Christ :

Every servant of God is expected to do the ministry of Jesus Christ. John
14:12 says, that he who believes on Jesus Christ shall do the works that
He did, and also greater works than that shall he do. When Jesus Christ
was ministering on this earth for a period of three and a half years He did
the following things:
(a) Established the Kingdom of God.
(b) Brought peace and joy into this world
(c) Destroyed the works of the devil
(d) Did the will of His Father
(e) Taught the Word of God
(f) Preached the gospel
(g) Did the ministry of reconciliation
(h) Healed the sick
(i) Cast-out the demons
(j) Performed miracles
(k) Set the captives free
(l) Gave counsel to people with problems
(m) Discipled and trained people for ministry
Every servant of God is supposed to do the same kind of ministry that
Jesus did. Further they are expected to be sensitive to the needs of the
people, recognize them quickly and minister to them until the need is met.

9. To serve as a role model:

As Paul said in I Corinthians 11:1, every servant of God must be able to
say "Follow me as I follow Christ". It is wrong to say "Don't look at me but
look at Jesus". The servant of God is not justified in saying as one popular
bumper sticker reads, "I am not prefect but I am just forgiven". Every
servant of God is expected to maintain the highest scriptural standards
both in his personal life and in his ministry. It is not right to always ask the
people to look at the lives of Paul, Peter and John, without themselves
reflecting the image and the character of Jesus Christ in their own lives.
Romans 8:29 says that, we have been predestined to be conformed to
the image of Jesus.

Ephisians 4:13 says that we must attain the stature and fullness of Jesus
and become perfect like Him. No minister or servant of God is justified in
teaching people to do something that they do not or cannot do themselves.
People should be interested in following the leaders and patterning their
lives after the example of their leaders. If people are not interested in
following their leaders, in some case it may be because they do not see
any good reason to follow them. Either nothing is attractive about them or
they do not have anything in which they are interested.

10.To help discover and fulfill God's will for their lives:
One of the most important responsibilities of a minister to those whom he
ministers to, is to help discover and fulfill God's will for their lives. Some of
the
most frequently asked questions are: what is God's will ? how does God
speak and
does God have a specific plan for everyone ? When a person discovers
God's will
for his life and starts fulfilling them he will have absolute peace, joy,
satisfaction
and fulfillment in his life. When a person is in the center of God's will he
will
have a very meaningful, challenging and fulfilling life. When a person is in
that
position, through his ministry, God's Kingdom will be extended, God's
name will
be glorified, the ministry will be fruitful and he will be rewarded for his
works.

11. To be humble and meek in dealing with them:

Every minister or servant of God has been called to serve the people. He
should be able to say as Jesus said, "I have come to minister and not to be
ministered unto". In order to serve the people one should be humble and
meek. To the contrary, today many are proud, haughty, selfish and
arrogant. Such people just cannot serve or minister to anyone effectively
and meaningfully. The Bible says that Jesus took the form of a servant
and that He even washed the feet of His disciples. The Bible also says
that Jesus was meek and He humbled himself to the point of laying down
His life for others. Meekness is not weakness. When a person is meek
like Jesus, even when others falsely accuse him, He will not react, resist or
retaliate. He will not even open his mouths to defend himself even though
He may be in a position to defend himself and prove his innocence. One
has to be spiritually very strong and mature to be meek.

12. Not to be lords over them :

The position of the servants of God is not to be lords over God's heritage
(I Peter 5:3). In other words, they should not consider themselves as
bosses over them. They should not command, control, manipulate,
humiliate, mistreat, dishonor or disrespect them. They should treat them
with dignity and self respect. They should not treat them as servants or
subordinates but rather as clients or customers.

13. Not to exploit them or take undue advantage over them :

While the ministers or the servants of God are expected to feed their
sheep, many are fed by the sheep and some even feed on the sheep. It is
not uncommon for servants of God even to feed on the sheep which
means exploiting them or enriching themselves at the cost of the people
they minister to. The motive of the ministers should be to give and not to
take from them. Their attitude must be to serve, to sacrifice and to give
without expecting anything in return.

14. Not to keep them as followers perpetually:

While the servants of God are expected to disciple their followers, within a
reasonable time they should make them leaders. When Jesus Christ
invited some common men to follow Him he promised to make them
leaders (fisher of men). Those men who were discipled by Jesus Christ
turned out to be great world leaders. It takes a little while to train anybody,
but within a certain time the training must be completed and the trainees
should be groomed for positions of leadership and some special
assignments must be given to them. It is unjust, improper and unscriptural
to retain the followers indefinitely as members of their congregation,
without developing them as leaders and utilizing them in that capacity.
Many pastors and Christian leaders may be guilty of keeping the members
of congregation too long within the four walls of their churches and
insisting that they should participate in all the programs of the church
regularly, give the tithes and offerings faithfully and stay in the church
forever and ever loyally. Many pastors seem to be satisfied with faithful
followers. They do not attempt to make them leaders. It seems attractive
to many ministers to have a large number of faithful followers attend the
weekly programs of the church regularly and help them in a number of
ways to keep the programs going. It is the attendance of the number of
people that is viewed as a mark of success. All the efforts of the leaders
are directed to get their own people to attend their own programs while the
mission of the church is to send them out to make them disciples of all
nations.

15. Not to threaten them :

The members of the church or anyone that is ministered to by a man of
God should not feel intimidated or threatened by him in any way, either to
submit to him or to obey him, unconditionally and without asking any
question. It is improper, unethical and immoral on the part of the pastors
to threaten the people they minister to under any circumstance, for selfish
gain under the pretext of either a prophecy or an action of the Holy Spirit.
It is not very uncommon for some men of God to demand their people to
do something for them or for the ministry under a threat of reprisals or
some serious and dire consequences, in the event of failure to carry them
out.

16. Not to merely use them for their own advantage :

Those in the ministry should offer themselves as a living sacrifice. They
should not expect any pecuniary gain from those whom they serve. It is
totally improper to misuse, harass, extort, misappropriate anyone under
any circumstance, of those whom they serve. The true motivation for
serving them or ministering to them must be the love of God and the love
for whom they serve. John 14:13 says, that no one has greater love than
this and that is to lay down one's life for one's friend.
V. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE STAFF MEMBERS
As the churches and para-church organizations grow into huge
organizations because of the great end time harvest which is taking place
in these last days, a need has risen to hire several full-time staff members
in every church and Christian organization. As the ministry grows, the
pastor and the leaders have no other option but to recruit more workers,
train and delegate responsibilities to them. This situation has created a
need to develop and maintain some new relationships with these workers
and staff members. This chapter deals with the moral obligations that
Christian leaders have, to their staff members and some ethical standards
that they must maintain in dealing with them and particularly in the area of
treatment and compensation.

1. To treat them with dignity and respect:

In every church and Christian organization, the leaders should treat their
subordinates with dignity and respect, no matter how less educated they
are or how poorly they may perform their jobs. The leader has a right to
maintain the highest standards in work when it comes to execution of any
job in the ministry and he has every right to enforce discipline and maintain
order within the organization, but it does not give him the right to mistreat,
disrespect, dishonor or ridicule any employee in the organization. The
basic human rights should not be violated.
Basically this area of responsibility deals with the language that is used in
communicating with them, the way they address them and the way they
react when an employee makes a mistake, violates any rule of the
organization or fails to carry out an order or any assigned work.

2. To treat them as partners in the ministry:

The pastors and the Christian leaders should treat those who assist and
work for them as their partners in the ministry or their co-laborers together
with Christ. It is not proper for any servant of God to claim his ministry as
his own. We are all engaged in the Lord's ministry. We all work for the
Lord Jesus Christ, who has given each one of us a role or a part to play in
His work. When we take this position then we will not have any difficulty in
accepting and treating our subordinates and staff members as our partners
in the ministry. The moment we think that it is our ministry and that we
have hired a staff member to work for us, our attitude towards the staff
member will change drastically. We should make every staff member feel
that he is serving God and not working merely for an organization or for a
person. He should realize that what he receives as salary is only a part of
the compensation for his service and the other part will be provided by God
supernaturally. This feeling of being a partner in the ministry will give them
not only a greater degree or sense of responsibility but also a sense of
belonging to the organization. Further the relationship between the
employees and the employer will be more cordial and harmonious.

3. To help discover and fulfill God's will and calling on their lives :
While many employees may join the staff of a church or any Christian
organization they may not be at that stage fully understand God's will for
their lives. They may not even know whether they have a calling to serve
God. Every pastor and Christian leader has the responsibility to help his
staff members to discover and fulfill God's will in their lives. This can be
done in a variety of ways. Every employee may be asked to write down
his visions and dreams, as well as his career interests and goals etc. on a
piece of paper and give it to his immediate supervisor. At this stage they
may not know clearly God's will and direction for their lives. But after a
series of meetings with their supervisors, held over a period of time, they
will be able to discover God's will for their lives. The real tests to find out
whether a person is in the center of God's will or not are as follows:
whether he has fulfillment in life;
whether he realizes his full potential;
whether he has absolute peace;
whether there are adequate fruits in the ministry;
whether he receives adequate rewards for his works.

Discovering God's will and fulfilling the same is a life long process and
therefore, there must be a continuous follow up to ensure that God's will is
fulfilled in their lives.

4. To reward them equitably and give them a fair share of the fruits
and blessings of the ministry :
Pastors and Christian leaders should not exploit the situation of
unemployment that might be prevalent in their areas and hire staff at a
ridiculously low salary. The salary they fix should be fair and equitable in
terms of the following :
the needs of the staff
the financial capacity of the organization,
the performance of the staff,
the prevailing wage and salary in similar
organizations in their particular locality
the qualifications and skills of the staff
the salary paid to other staff in the organization.

In addition to all these considerations by the organization in fixing the

salary, it should also be ensured that a fair share of the fruits and blessings
of the ministry is distributed to the staff in some meaningful way.

5. To disciple them to become more Christ like:

Every pastor and Christian leader has a moral obligation not to neglect his
own staff members while he is making disciples of all nations. Employees,
subordinates or staff members should not be merely used by their
supervisors to accomplish their goals, without due regard to the goals of
the staff members, and particularly in churches and Christian
organizations, the main thrust is to help people grow spiritually and help
them solve all problems spiritually. They should pay individual attention to
every staff member and take special interest in helping them grow
spiritually and finding spiritual solutions for every problem they face. As
the staff members grow stronger and stronger spiritually and become more
and more Christ-like they would be more effective and successful in
fulfilling their responsibilities. Therefore, by investing more time and
money on staff members for training and discipleship, the organization will
not lose but only gain.

6. To serve as a role model for them :

The pastors and leaders set a limit for the growth for those who work under
them, either consciously or unconsciously. Every employee in an
organization will be influenced at least to some extent by the personalities
and reach higher standards and levels, both within the organization and in
their life, the leaders have to serve as role models. They should exhibit and
demonstrate spiritual qualities, and maintain high moral and ethical
standards established in the Bible. While leaders limit the growth of the
staff members they also can increase the potential of one's growth by
serving as proper role models.

7. To be sensitive to their needs and to minister to them :

It is important that every pastor and leader is sensitive to the needs of his
subordinates and minister to them as quickly as possible. The
subordinates also should know that the leaders of the organization are
really concerned about their needs and that they are always willing and
available to minister to their personal needs.

8. To ensure that they have peace and joy in serving God :

It is not enough if the staff members of the organization perform their
duties well to the satisfaction of their superiors and justify on the salary that
they receive. Those who work for a church or any Christian organization
should also find their jobs meaningful and fulfilling to them. On the job
they should not have too much of stress or pressure. They must enjoy
what they are doing and they must have peace of mind and satisfaction of
serving God.

9. To help realize their full potential :

The moral obligations and responsibilities of the leaders in the ministry
towards their staff members go beyond giving them a good salary and a
fair treatment. To the extent possible they should be given adequate
opportunities to use and develop their special talents, skills and abilities,
keeping in mind their career interests and goals, so that they may realize
their full potential and find fulfillment in their lives. There are many staff
members working for different ministries for long periods of time totally
frustrated and disenchanted with the ministry because their superiors did
not take personal interest in developing them and giving them an
opportunity to do:
what they desire to do;
what they have been called to do; and
what they have been qualified to do.
There is also a general feeling amongst them that they have been merely
used or exploited to the advantage of the leaders.

To ensure that they have fulfillment in serving God.

When a person serves God, he will have a sense of fulfillment and
satisfaction. There will be fruits in the ministry. Further, they will receive
adequate rewards for their services. Even though the other working
conditions may not be so great as long as these two conditions are met,
they will find their job meaningful and fulfilling. The employer has a moral
obligation to ensure this.

10. To correct, reprove and discipline them with love :

When a person really cares for other people, he will, if necessary, even go
out of his way, to help them. When somebody has a problem, there are a
number of ways to help him. In an employment situation, a caring and
loving employer should correct, reprove and discipline the employees,
whenever necessary, but with true love and concern, and not with anger,
hatred or prejudice.

11. Not to exploit them for personal gains and popularity :

While the employer has the right to utilize the services of the employees to
the fullest extent, within the permissible limits, he should not exploit them
in any way for any unlawful gain or advantage. They should not be
harassed or blackmailed either.

12. To provide a pleasant environment for them to work:

Another moral obligation or responsibility of an employer is to provide a
pleasant and conducive physical, social and spiritual environment for them
to work. The atmosphere of the work must be non-threatening and
comfortable.

13. Not to play favoritism :

Fair and equal treatment of all employees must be given. The leader
should not play favoritism. Every employee must be his favorite, in the
sense that he should consider and treat every employee as someone
special. As we know, no two persons are alike and similar in every respect.
Each person has been designed and created differently with a set of traits
and a combination of talents and skills to perform a special function. Every
one in the organization must be accepted, appreciated and treated well
without any discrimination or bias.

14. Not to harass or humiliate them :

How we treat our employee in the organization is very important. Under no
circumstances should the employer put down, humiliate or ridicule any
employee, particularly in the presence of others. This kind of treatment
may seriously affect them psychologically.
 VI. RESPONSIBILITIES TO OTHER MINISTRIES
Every servant of God that is in the ministry has certainly some moral and
ethical responsibilities and obligations to other ministries and churches.
After all, every church is a part of the body of Christ. Jesus Christ
established only one Church. Every church and every para-church
organization must be a part of that universal Church. In other words, there
must be some meaningful relationship or connection, either directly or
indirectly, between all churches and Christian institutions. No church
should desire or claim to be an independent church. Every church or
ministry should be interdependent, interrelated and interconnected.

It is very important to understand that the ministry in which everyone is

involved, is the ministry of God. Therefore every servant of God is only a
co-laborer together with Christ. In other words, every servant of God
should do the ministry in partnership with God. If we can comprehend this
fact and accept this principle and subscribe to it, churches will not have
much of conflict, competition, rivalry and jealously. Every servant of God
should try to build only the kingdom of God and not his own kingdom. The
question that every servant of God should ask frequently is, whether he is
trying to build his own kingdom and wants glory for himself or whether he
is building the Kingdom of God and wants the name of God to be glorified.
Many ministers may strive hard to accomplish many
things in the ministry because they want them done for their own fulfillment
or satisfaction. In some instances they try hard and try desperately to get
things done according to their schedule even when the necessary
resources are not available to get those things done. Some very important
principles that I have learned some time ago, which I practice in my own
ministry are as follows:

If God is not interested in something that I want to do, I am not interested

in it.

If God is not in a hurry to get something done, then I am not in a hurry.

If God would expect us to do something for the extension of His kingdom

or for His glory, he would certainly provide the necessary resources to get
the job done. God is the biggest and the richest employer and He does
not lack any resources whatsoever. When we serve God, faithfully
discerning His will and obeying His commandment, God's plans and
purposes will be fulfilled and there will be fruits or positive results in the
ministry. We will also receive fair and equitable rewards for our services. I
strongly believe that when we step out in faith and begin to serve God in
response to God's call, He will enter our names in heaven's payroll.

The moral obligations and responsibilities of the pastors and Christian

leaders to each other are as follows :

1. To respect every man of God and treat him with dignity and
honor :
God is not going to hold us responsible for the conduct or the work of the
other men of God. We are only expected to respect, honor, love and treat
them with dignity. God has not given us the role of judging other ministers.
We should be conscious of the fact that we are all the children as well as
the servants of the same God and that we all work for the extension of the
same kingdom.

2. To fellowship with other men of God and to build and maintain

long-term relationships with them :
Because every servant of God is trying to build the kingdom of God in
different ways and in different geographical areas, we must try to
coordinate our activities to avoid unnecessary conflicts and overlapping of
work. In order to work in peace and harmony we should try to have
fellowship with each other and build long-term relationships.

3. To encourage, appreciate and support other ministers and

ministries:
It is important that we take some positive steps to encourage, appreciate
and support other ministers as much as we can. If we do so, we will also
have a share in the fruits of their ministry.

4. To participate in their programs whenever possible :

Another thing that the servants of God should do, is to show interest in
what other servants of God are doing by participating in their programs
whenever they are invited by them. The very thought that they are
concerned about their ministries must be very comforting and encouraging,
even though we may not contribute to their ministry financially and help
them in any tangible way.

5. To be sensitive to their needs and to do the very best to help

them :
Another moral obligation of every servant of God is to be sensitive to the
needs of other servants of God and ministries and do his very best or give
his fair share to help them meet those needs.

6. Not to slander or gossip against them :

We have been talking so far about things that the servants of God should
do to be a blessing to other servants of God and ministries. It is even more
important for them not to hurt, harm, cause any damage or inflict any injury
in any way even to their reputation or credibility, by any slander or gossip
against them in any form or manner whatsoever.

7. Not to be jealous of them or envy them:

Jealousy and envy are the works of evil spirits. No servant of God should
allow these evil spirits to operate in their lives. For no reason whatsoever,
no servant of God should envy or be jealous of any other servant of God or
minister. On the contrary, we should only rejoice if others do well in their
ministries and grow.

8. Not to interfere with their ministries in anyway or steal their

sheep :
Another thing that ministries should avoid is to interfere with the work of
other ministries, clash or conflict in any way or manner whatsoever in
terms of encroaching upon their areas or enticing away their staff or
members. We don't have to worry too much about the souls that have
been saved already and the souls that are under the care of some church.
We should not even encourage members of other churches to come and
join our church or even accept them until and unless the pastor of the
former church has expressed clearly that he has no objection to their
leaving their church and joining another church.

9. Not to criticize or judge other servants of God :

Not too often do we hear good reports about ministers or ministries in
general. The bad news spread quickly, but good things that happen in the
ministries are not reported. When the servants of God criticize or judge
other servants of God, it amounts to condemning them. If they are really
concerned about other ministers or ministries they should meet with them
in person and give godly counsel to them with true love and concern. It is
immoral and unethical to make critical judgments and remarks about God's
servants either in public or even privately to some individuals.

10. Not to raid the employees of other ministries :

Raiding is an unethical business practice. It is wrong for one employer to
attract an employee working in another organization by offering higher
salary and incentive. In Christian organizations we must maintain even
higher ethical and moral standards.

11. Not to enter the territory of other ministries and attract some
people to
their own ministries :
When a servant of God ministers in a village, town or a small geographical
area it is unethical for other organizations to go into the same area and try
to do something similar to what the other person is doing already. The
right thing to do will be to meet with that person and find out if he can do
anything in that area by way of ministry which will compliment and
strengthen what he is doing there already. It is good to have
communication and fellowship with each other.

12. Not to promote their own ministries and raise funds when
ministering in
other churches :
When a preacher or an evangelist is invited by a church to minister there
for a few days or just minister in any service or meeting, his primary
interest must be to minister to the needs of the people in that congregation.
He must be a blessing to them spiritually. He must have a burden for the
people gathered there and he must have a word, a prophecy or some
other spiritual gift, which will be of value and blessing to that congregation.
If he has accepted the invitation to minister there with a clear
understanding with the local pastor and permission to do some
promotional work or fund raising for his ministry, he may engage himself in
such activities to some extent. In the absence of express permission or
consent of the local pastor, it would be unethical and immoral to indulge in
such activities.

13. Not to divide other churches and to attract some of them to join
their
own ministries:
It is not uncommon for some visiting preacher or evangelist to prophecy
over some people that God's calling is upon their life for ministry and that
they should leave the church and start their own ministry. In such cases,
the visiting preacher generally ordains them, gives spiritual covering and
acts as an apostle over that newly established church. This is certainly an
unethical practice. If he has any prophecy for the member of the
congregation that he visits, he should say it in public and not privately.
Secondly, he has no business to ordain a minister or a member of another
church. Thirdly, he cannot divide a church and link it with his own ministry.

14. Not to distribute their own literature when they visit other
churches
without the permission of the local pastor :
Several visiting ministers have the habit of distributing their own
magazines and newsletters, when they visit other churches. It is important
that they get the prior approval from the local pastor before doing it. It is
unethical to attract the members of other congregations towards their
ministries and to appeal to them for funds for their ministries. It is still
worse to tell the congregation that they do not have to give all of their tithes
to the local church and that they may feel free to send their tithes wherever
they choose to send.

15. Not to visit the homes or members of other churches and to

minister to
them without the consent of their pastor :
It is not ethical for the visiting preachers to visit the homes of the members
of other Churches either for fellowship or for ministering to them privately.
There are times when the visiting preachers are housed in the homes of
the members of the local congregation. In those instances they should
maintain the highest moral standards and be extremely careful not to
probe into the politics of the local Church and to give counsel to them on
those matters. Even when it comes to giving counsel on any other
personal matter, the proper procedure and the ethical way of doing it would
be, to do it with the consent of the local pastor or in the presence of the
local pastor. It would be unethical and immoral to give counsel to the
members of another congregation without knowing the full background of
the people they are giving counsel to, and without knowing as to what their
own pastor has advised them to do.

16. Not to ordain or baptize the members of other church members :

A visiting preacher is neither authorized nor supposed to ordain or baptize
the members of other Churches unless the local pastor requests or
authorizes him to do so.

17. Not to hold public meetings to attract members of other

churches to
their own church or ministry or to raise money from them :
It is a perfectly acceptable thing to hold public meetings and normal for
members of several churches to attend such meetings. Sometimes
meetings may be held in their own church premises to evangelize the
unreached, but the purpose of such meetings should not be to attract
members of other churches to join their own church. Further, the motive of
such public meetings should not be exclusively fund raising. In other
words the people that come with needs or spiritual hunger should not be
merely exploited without discerning and ministering to those people.

18. To pray for other ministries :

Every servant of God should be interested in the ministry of every other
servant of
God. In other words, everyone must be interested in what the Lord is
doing
everywhere. His interest should not be limited and restricted to his ministry
alone.
When new churches spring up and when the existing ministries of others
grow,
others should be thrilled and excited about it. They must make it a habit to
pray
for the growth of God's kingdom through the growth of every ministry.
When it
comes to a conflict between the interest of his own ministry and the
interest of
another ministry, each minister must be willing to let the interest of the
other
ministry to prevail. The Bible says that we must prefer one another and
constantly
pray for one another. We must be happy to see every other ministry
flourish and
grow and never allow the spirit of jealousy and envy to influence us in any
way.

19. Not to condemn the doctrines of other ministries and churches :

People have the right to believe in what they want. If they believe
sincerely that their interpretation of the Bible is the most accurate one, they
may feel free to go by their own interpretation and they must have the
liberty to make their views known to others. But it does not give them
license or authority to condemn and criticize publicly or privately the beliefs
of other groups and denominations. They may make an attempt to
explain, clarify and justify their view points with the good intention that
others may know the truth and benefit by it. But it is unethical and immoral
to criticize, condemn, ridicule and mock at the people who hold a different
view or belief sincerely but may be ignorant.
 VII. RESPONSIBILITIES TO OTHERS
The ethical and moral responsibilities of those in the ministry extend far
beyond their own congregation and other ministries. They have moral
obligations and responsibilities to the following groups of people as well:
A. To the people in the local community
B. To the whole world
C. To the government

1. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY :

Every Christian is supposed to be a good witness for the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is expected to grow spiritually and become more and more
Christ like. People in this world must see Christ in them. By definition a
Christian is a follower of Christ or disciple of Christ. He is supposed to
continue the very works that Jesus did. He is supposed to grow in the
nature of Christ and bear such qualities as love, peace, joy, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. These nine
spiritual qualities are listed in Galatians 5:22-23, as the fruit of the Spirit
which implies that a mature or a grown up Christian will have these
qualities. A Christian is supposed to maintain peace with all people. He is
supposed to love everyone unconditionally including strangers and even
enemies. He is supposed to return good for evil. When someone strikes
him on his right cheek, he is supposed to turn the other to him. When
someone compels him to go a mile, he is supposed to go two miles with
him. When someone persecutes him, he is supposed to pray for him. If
somebody curses him he is supposed to bless him. When someone takes
away unlawfully his coat, he is supposed to give his cloak also. He is
supposed to forgive everyone that offends him or accuses him falsely.
These are the teachings of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5).
If such a high moral and ethical standard is expected of an average
Christian it is needless to say that the Christian leaders are expected to
maintain a much higher ethical and moral standard in their personal life, in
their ministry and in their relationship with the community in which they are
living and ministering.
They should have a special burden, love and interest for the community in
which they live and minister. That community should be considered to be
their primary mission field. Their congregation or the people they minister
to or provide services for, could be a small percentage or a segment of that
community. However, they have a moral and social responsibility to the
entire community. They should participate in the community activities and
they should even contribute liberally to the community development or
welfare. Even their own ministry should initiate and develop some
community welfare programs. Further, they should be aware of and
sensitive to the social needs of the community including health, education,
employment and rural development.
Acts 10:38 says, that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was anointed of the Holy
Spirit by power and went about doing good and healing all manner of
sickness and disease. The Bible says that the Son of God was manifested
to destroy the works of the devil, and to do the will of the Father. During
the entire period of His ministry for three and a half years, Jesus was very
sensitive to the needs of the people that He came across; gave His
undivided and full attention to the people who were in some kind of need;
and immediately took care of them. Whenever He saw a need of someone
he came across nothing else mattered to Him but to immediately minister
to his needs.

It is, therefore, imperative that every servant of God has a sense of the
awesome responsibility to be sensitive to the needs of the people in the
community in which he lives, to which he belongs and where he ministers,
and to give top priority to do the best he can do to deal with them. It is
wrong to assume that people who have a calling to preach, teach and
evangelize have no obligation or responsibility to deal with the economic
and social problems of the community.

We cannot separate the Gospel work from the social work. They are
intricately intertwined. A hungry man should be fed first before we share
the Gospel to him. The other moral obligations and social responsibilities
of the ministers to their communities are summarized below :

To pray for the salvation of the people in their own community and in their
entire mission field.
To really have a passion and love for the people who are sick, suffering,
poor or lost without any hope of salvation.
To have a primary focus on the people in their own community and to try to
reach them and to minister to them.
To be sensitive to the needs of the local people and to seek opportunities
to meet those needs.
To make an organized effort to preach the gospel to every soul in their
community, they should co-operate with others in the ministry.
To participate and get involved in the community and social service
activities and contribute their fair share without isolating themselves.
To ensure that no one in the community is threatened by any of their
activities or programs.
To justify their existence and operation in the community.
They should make significant contributions to the community in some
tangible ways.
Not to ignore totally the needs of the community and just try to do
something for the benefit of those who are outside the community.

2. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE WHOLE WORLD :

While every Church and Christian organization tries to serve a local
community, and are normally focused on or restricted to a geographical
area it has a moral and ethical responsibility and obligation to the rest of
the world also, at least to some degree. So far as the ministry is
concerned, it has to be global in scope and magnitude. Jesus
commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature (Mark 16:15). In Matthew 28:19 Jesus said "Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations". While it is important for every
Church and Christian organization to have a local mission field and
concentrate on that area, it must be sensitive to the needs of the people in
the unreached areas around the world, and do the best that he can to meet
those needs. It is also a good idea to choose a foreign mission field and to
do some missionary work in that area. The Bible says in Matthew's Gospel
Chapter 24:14, that after the gospel is preached to all the world the end
shall come.
The servants of God and the Christian organizations should have real
awareness of the needs of the people around the world. They should also
have a special burden for the people in every nation. They should at least
pray for them and contribute their fair share in reaching the unreached
people and in helping those in need. If they do not have the financial
capability or other resources to individually take some initiative and do
some work in other parts of the world, they should at least participate in
programs which are global in scope.
In order to fulfill one's moral obligations and ethical responsibilities to the
world in general, it is important that they adopt the following policy in their
ministry:
To have a global vision and a global mission at least to some degree.
To have a global perspective and an awareness of what is happening
around the world.
To play a role to reach the people with the gospel in the remote parts of
the world by giving financial contributions, sending missionaries and
donating other supplies needed in those areas for the mission work.
To rise to the occasion and do their part when there is a special need or
emergency anywhere in the globe.
To have a missionary spirit and to be willing to go anywhere to serve God
according to the needs.
To mark a day every month or every year and observe it as a Missions
Day.
To make some significant contributions for some
missions work and not just give a little token.
To build long-term relationships with ministers or ministries in other parts of
the world and to be
involved in some way in the global ministry.
To motivate, challenge, recruit, train and send people for global ministry.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE GOVERNMENT :

The Bible states clearly that we should fulfill all the requirements of the law
and particularly pay taxes to the government. Generally speaking it is
possible to obey God and also to obey the laws of the governments. The
Bible states that we should pray for kings, the heads of the states and
others in positions of authority and leadership in the government. There
are a number of ways in which a Church and a Christian organization can
help the government and support their programs. It is also important that
Churches establish and maintain good relationship with every department
of the government at least at the local level.
Of course in countries where Christianity is not legally recognized or
permitted, the situation would be different. The moral and ethical
obligations and responsibilities of Churches and other Christian
organizations to the government may be summarized in broad and general
terms as follows:
1. To abide by the laws of the country.
2. To fulfill all the legal obligations applicable to our churches and
ministries.
3. To support the Government and their programs by contributing their
fair
share.
4. To participate in the election process and to support the right
candidates
based on their values and beliefs.
5. To participate in the process of enacting new legislation and passing
bills
which will guarantee us our constitutional right of freedom of religion.
6. To make full and honest disclosure of our financial conditions and to
fulfill
our financial obligations to the Government.
7. To be a good citizen of the country in terms of fulfilling our moral and
legal
obligations.

VIII. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THEMSELVES

While the servants of God have several moral obligations and ethical
responsibilities to diverse groups of people and organizations, they also
owe something to themselves. Unless they take good care of their health
and maintain a good mental state they cannot fulfill all these
responsibilities. They must have peace with God and peace with all men.
They must enjoy what they are doing and they must have fulfillment and
satisfaction in their lives. They should receive a fair and equitable reward
or compensation for their services. Further, they should have fruits in their
ministry. In other words, whatever, they do by way of service or ministry
should be a blessing to someone and should help build and extend the
Kingdom of God. They should live comfortably and maintain a decent
standard of living. They should be able to fulfill their obligations and
responsibilities to their family members. Many servants of God are guilty
of neglecting their own families to do well in their ministries. They must
have some leisure time and they should have the liberty and opportunities
to spend time for things of interest to them. Their social life is also equally
important. They must have the freedom to spend time with their relatives
and friends. They should not overwork at the expenses of their health.
They should have their vacation and times of rest and refreshing. Last but
not least, every servant of God should maintain his self-respect, dignity
and public image.
Some of the areas that should be examined by the servants of God, are
their own health, welfare, protection, freedom, family, social life, standard
of living, hobbies, dignity and remuneration. In order to ensure that these
areas are well taken care of and justice is done, they are listed below :
1. Not to impair their health or shorten their lives.
2. Not to assume responsibilities which are not within their capacity to
handle.
3. To have plenty of time to rest and relax.
4. To spend ample time with the family and to have a happy married life.
5. To protect their health and to take good care of their body.
7. To maintain peace and happiness at all times and to enjoy the work of
the
ministry fully.
8. To have adequate freedom and liberty to pursue things of their own
interest
which are not contrary to their religious beliefs.
8. To eat wholesome and nourishing food at proper intervals of time.
9. To have good social life, in terms of fellowship with friends, relatives
and believers.
10. To maintain a decent standard of living and to enjoy the comforts and
luxuries of life which are reasonable for their standard of life.
11. To maintain self respect, dignity and good public image as an
individual and
a citizen
12. To expect, receive and enjoy a good remuneration for the work of the
ministry.
 IX. SOME ETHICAL ISSUES AND
PROBLEMS IN THE MINISTRY
Probably the most sensational news in the media such as newspaper,
magazine and television, more than the news about the film stars,
politicians, sportsmen and celebrities is the news about preachers and
other well-known men in the ministry and particularly bad news about
them. The media reports news on these men on a wide range of issues
and matters including misappropriation of funds, immoral life, extravagant
life style, false doctrines, pride and arrogance, violation of laws, divorce
and dishonesty.

It is very important that the servants of God maintain the highest scriptural
standard both in their personal lives and in their ministries, and serve as a
role model to the public. It is fair and reasonable for the public to expect
them to practice what they preach. The common moral and ethical
problems in the ministry today are listed below :
1. Mishandling finances.
2. Jurisdictional disputes.
3. Living an extravagant lifestyle.
4. Judging, criticizing and condemning other ministries.
5. Gossiping about other ministries.
6. Being proud and arrogant.
7. Living an immoral life.
8. Neglecting one's family responsibilities.
9. Not having good relationships with family members.
10. Not maintaining any communication with other ministries.
11. Being very unfriendly or hostile.
12. Not being honest in dealings.
13. Not having genuine concern for the people.
14. Violating God's laws without fearing God.
15. Being materialistic.
16. Being very egoistic and selfish.
17. Seeking popularity and misusing the power of anointing.

Almost all the items listed above do not need much explanation because
they are self-explanatory. Some of the items mentioned here have already
been discussed in detail in the earlier chapters. It is probably a good idea
to probe into the reasons why the moral and ethical standards in the
ministry have deteriorated to this degree. Some of the possible reasons
for such degradation of the moral and ethical standards are enumerated
below:
1. It is prophesied in the Bible that in the last days there will be a great
falling
away.
2. It is prophesied in the Bible that in the last days there shall be many
false
prophets (Matthew 24:11)
3. It is prophesied that the iniquities shall abound and the love of many
shall
wax cold (Matthew 24:12)
4. It is prophesied that men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous,
boasters, proud, blasphemers and unholy (II Timothy 3:2).
4. It is prophesied that they shall be traitors, and lovers of pleasure more
than
lovers of God. (II Timothy 3:4)
6. They will not fear God.
7. They will not believe in heaven and hell.
8. They will not believe that there is going to be a day of judgment.
9. They are not spiritually strong and mature enough to resist the
temptations.
10. They are covetous and discontent.
11. They do not love God as much as they should.
12. They do not keep the commandment of loving their neighbors as
themselves.
13. They are not able to forgive other people.
13. They attempt to build their own kingdom rather than building the
Kingdom
of God.
15. They are jealous of others who are more successful than themselves.
16. They are proud of their own accomplishments and their own abilities.
17. They compromise with the world.
18. They are too worldly and less godly.
19. There is a shift in the values from family and religion to money and
fame.
20. They are influenced by television shows resulting in lower moral
standards.
21. They become more and more materialistic.
 X. SOME GENERAL SOLUTION
TO THE ETHICAL PROBLEMS
The solution to the ethical issues and problems discussed in this book are
not simple and easy, but there are solutions. If a person wants to find
solutions he can. If a servant of God is serious about maintaining high
ethical and moral standards, both in his personal life and in his ministry, he
can. It is impossible or difficult to legislate and impose moral and ethical
standards of behavior and conduct upon the servants of God. It is equally
difficult to monitor and control whether high moral standards are
maintained by them in their lives and ministries. But for a person who is
serious about morality and ethics, several practical suggestions and
solutions are offered below:
1. Have a spiritual covering.
2. Seek the counsel of godly men.
3. Have accountability to someone.
4. Have good fellowship with other ministers and ministries.
5. Maintain good communication with other ministries.
6. Have genuine love and concern for people.
7. Realize that other churches and ministries are part of the universal
Church.
8. Fear God.
9. Determine to please God rather than men.
10. Build God's kingdom rather than your own kingdom.
11. Do not try to compete with other ministries.
Every servant of God must have a spiritual covering whether required by
law or not. If a man of God is under some spiritual covering, in the event
of commission of an act, which is unethical or immoral, he will have an
accountability to explain the same to somebody. Therefore, spiritual
covering will be a strong deterrent force. When a person has a spiritual
covering he will also have access to receive godly counsel from some
godly men of wisdom and experience. The Bible says that there is safety
in the multitude of counsel. Proverbs15:22 says that, without counsel,
purposes are disappointed. Proverbs11:14 says, where there is no
counsel people fall. Psalms 33:11 says that the counsel of the Lord
standeth forever.
If a person sincerely desires to maintain high moral and ethical standards
he should fellowship and maintain good relationships with other ministries.
If he isolates himself from the rest of the Body of Christ he will have a
tendency and temptation to indulge in immoral activities and unethical
practices. On the other hand, if he interacts frequently with other ministers
in the community, a certain amount of pressure will be upon him to
maintain good conduct and behavior.
No matter what kind of social pressure or resistance is there or what kind
of methods are used in the system to regulate a servant of God, unless he
is deeply rooted and grounded in the Word of God and his heart is filled
with the love of God, there is no guarantee that he will be good both
morally and ethically. Lastly, the servant of God should have a strong
desire to please God rather than pleasing men. He should be genuinely
interested in building the kingdom of God rather than his own kingdom. He
should be interested in seeking, discovering and fulfilling God's will and
purpose for his life, rather than doing things that will please him and satisfy
him. No one should try to compete with other ministries. They should be
more interested in doing what God wants them to do. They should not
have glamour for popularity, money and material things. Ultimately the
real solution to the ethical problems lies in spiritual maturity and
righteousness.

Ministry Ethics (Additions)

Violations of Scriptural Principles in To-day’s Ministry
It is important that both in our personal Christian lives and in worship
services that we conduct in our Churches, we should strictly follow a
Biblical Principles one hundred percent, and not just deviate and do things
according to our whims and fancies or just following the traditions of the
local cultural practices. One of the problems for such deviations from the
scriptural order or pattern in all religious practices is, either lack of full
awareness what the scripture says concerning the matters listed below or
following the traditions without checking the current practices with the
relevant scriptures by making necessary corrections or changes. Whether
things are done wrongly by ignorance, or because of their tradition, it is
important that we take an objective look of the relevant scriptures and make
necessary corrections.

1. Worship
The Bible says very clearly that we should worship the Lord in truth and in
spirit. We have to realize that worship is a spiritual act, but most of the time
the people that gather to worship the Lord do not worship in spirit. They
may get a little emotional while worshipping the Lord, but they are ignorant
of the fact that they are in emotional realm and do not even know the
difference between the emotional and the spiritual realm. This is because
they have not been taught properly in the Church. What is even worse is in
many Churches when time comes for worship, they think they have to sing a
few hymns or lyrics being accompanied by a Piano or organ or even by a full
orchestra. If they sing 2 or 3 songs then they think their worship part of the
service is over. People just do not know how to contact our God who is a
spirit through the spirit that God has endeavored us with. This is possible
first of all through concentration upon God is awesome glory, wonder love,
majesty etc. and as we think of these things and begin to meditate
visualizing and imagining in our minds the chances are that we will forget
ourselves and our surroundings and we will be caught up in his glory and
will be truly worshipping the Lord in the spirit.

What is even still worse is to have a choir in color robes, have them on a
gallery type of stage even sometimes in large numbers like 50 or 100 who
are trained to sing some special songs as the Choir master conducts the
orchestra to play certain songs and to direct the choir to sing in harmony
with the instrumental music keeping up the timing or beat, while the entire
congregation may watch the choir sing as though there is a performance on
the stage and when the choir is through singing they all standard up and give
a standing ovation to the choir for their performance. In the midst of all of
this very little attention is given to God and his majesty even though it is
possible that some may be lost in the spirit and be truly worshipping the
Lord. Since this pattern of worship services are become very prevalent these
days the very concept of worship of an average Christian is to go through
that part of the service and then to continue on to the next part of the service
which could be prayer or Bible reading. There is nothing wrong in having a
choir nor practicing and singing a nice anthem or hymn, but what is sad is
that in the midst of the performance and other paraphernalia sometimes God
is neither in the picture nor he is given the center of attention. The other
danger in this kind of programmed activities in the Church is not getting into
the dimension of the spirit in the entire worship service, but to go through a
cycle of activities which is even programmed and printed before hand. What
I am stressing in this context of worship is that in the worship our spiritual
involvement in the key and our genuine attempt in reaching out to God
spiritually to have a foretaste of his divine glory and to be enthralled and
engulfed in the glory and the magnificence of God and His majesty. The
ability to distinguish between the emotional and the spiritual realm or
feelings is the critical issue.

2. Prayer
There are hundreds of scriptures in the Bible about Prayer. Further, there are
many illustrations in the Bible about the relationships that existed between
God and his servants of God. We should not give a narrow and rigid
definition for prayer and think it is a way of communicating to God our
needs and at the same time thanking him for his goodness and mercies
towards us. It can be and should be a part of the prayer but again the
important missing element in prayer life in many Christians is the lack of
knowledge or the ability to cut into the presence of God and not only
communicate to him both our prayer requests and our praises, but we should
also be able to love him and have fellowship wit him. As the expression used
in the Bible many a times while describing the relationship that existed
between God and several men of God, they literally walked and talked with
God. After all God created man to love him and to have fellowship with
him. Therefore, the longer a person has known God a closer must be his
relationship and he should learn to be conscious of God’s presence and
continue his praise, worship, adoration and communication from the time he
gets up from the bed until he goes to bed in the night. God consciousness is
one of the key factor in prayer. The other key factors are expressing our love
and experiencing God’s love and Goodness and building a close and
intimate relationship with God through words, commitments, thanksgiving,
praises etc. Another important element in the prayer is to learn to listen to
the voice of God. Therefore, as a matter of fact prayer should be a two way
communication and as the Bible says while yet we are praying we receive
the answer. We should be spending as a matter of fact more time while
praying in listening to what God says than to throw lot of words at him and
not listening to the still small voice of God.
Another point that should be made in this context is what we describe as
fasting and prayer. This is very important and scriptural, but at the same time
we frequently hear the people say that they attended one of the fasting and
prayer meeting in one place and they will be attending another one very
soon. It is not just an event or time of gathering of saints to make appeals to
God in unison even depriving themselves of their regular meal for the
purpose of making God to move with compassion and to grant their requests.
Fasting and prayer is certainly scriptural and it should be observed but it
should not become like a religious practice or a way to bombard God in
large number by resorting to it in this fashion to put pressure on God or to
get his sympathy to grant their requests.

It is worthwhile focusing on the incident in which Moses was in the presence

of God for 40 days and 40 nights at the top of mount Sinai not even being
aware of the fact that 40 days and nights slipped away and during this long
span of time he neither ate nor drank anything, and I am sure he was not
even aware of the fact that such a length of time slipped away unaware and
that he did not even have any meal or drink. The concentration on God is
more critical and being unaware or unconscious of their surroundings is
more important while their full concentration is in God and to be wrapped up
in the presence of God enjoying the divine presence of God and being in a
state of spirit and not just moving emotionally.

We have to realize that God is a spirit and we have been created as spiritual
beings. In our relationship or communication with God our involvement
with God in our spirit is more critical than our involvement of our mind for
emotion or will.

3. Administration
In the administration of a Church by the Pastors and other Leaders we have
to follow the Bible as the constitution and not other book written to program
the activities of the congregation in the context of some program of the
Church. First of all we should notice that the purpose of gathering people in
a sanctuary perhaps on the Sabbath days or perhaps even one or two more
days, is to do the following:
a. Worshipping the Lord
b. Praying as a congregation
c. Singing songs of praises and worship
d. Hearing Sermons
e. Getting intense teaching of the Word of God
 f. Being discipled to become like Jesus Christ and to be a true
disciple of Jesus
g. To be taught and trained to live a holy and a righteous life
following the commandments of God
h. To be given training to go out at least two by two to evangelize
the unreached by preaching the gospel
i. To be trained by those with experience to heal the sick, open
the blind eyes, cast the demons, make the lame to walk etc.
j. To help discover God’s will for the lives of each member of the
Church and to be guided and trained to fulfill the calling
k. To help find their niche in the local body of Christ so that
everyone can be effective in playing their specific role for the
entire local Church to function as a total body of Christ

If every Church operates their Church in this fashion probably there will not
be any need for Bible Schools to exist to train a Christian who has attended a
Church for 20 or 30 years to start from the scratch in a Bible School to study
and to be trained for 4 years to be ready to be ordained to begin their
ministry.

There is also another side to the administration of the local Church which is
more fully explained in our book titled “Church Management”, a brief
summary of which is given below for quick reference.
a. The Financial Administration of the Church
b. The Spiritual Administration of the Church
c. The Management of the Organization of the Church
d. The Setting and Accomplishing the Goals of the Church Growth

a. The Financial Administration of the Church

In the Bible God has laid down a plan for financing the administration and to
meet the needs of the Church. The following are the Biblically designed or
approved methods of raising funds to meet different needs of the Church:
i. Requiring or teaching every earning member of the Church
to bring all of their tithes and offering to the Church. The
tithes would mean 10% of all of their income or revenue.
ii. Giving thanksgiving offering to the Lord for every special
blessing they receive from the Lord. The amount should
depend upon the significance of the blessing one receives.
iii. Another kind of offering mentioned in the Bible is what is
called the first fruit offering which means every time a
person receives a special blessing of its kind they are
expected to give the first blessing (Fruit) as an offering to
the Lord in appreciation of this special and new blessing
they received from the Lord. Please note this is not a part of
the fruit, but the whole fruit which may mean in the context
of a fruit yielded from their garden it will be the whole
pumpkin or the whole bunch of bananas and not one chunk
of pumpkin or one banana from the bunch. Translating this
principle in a situation like the first monthly pay check the
first fruit should be the entire check of the first month’s
salary and not a part of it.
iv. Another kind of offering that people are expected to give to
the Lord what is described in the Bible as the seed faith
offering. This offering should be given when a person is in
some kind of a need. At this point in order to get a special
blessing from God like a harvest, they should bring some
offering as the seed faith offering praying to God a blessed,
multiply it and give it back to them in a much greater
proportion. As the Bible says if you sow sparingly you will
also reap sparingly, if you sow bountifully you will also reap
bountifully. In the same measure we give unto the Lord it
shall be measured back unto you.
v. Last but not the least, God has made a special provision for
the funds to be raised from the members of the congregation
of the Church itself who raise enough resources to build
their Church and not to depend on some outsiders or and
outside agency. When we build our house we use our own
resources and not make a petition to our neighbors to
contribute towards their house. When Moses built the
tabernacle in the wilderness according to the instruction
given to him by God he told every person who was 21 or
above to bring daily gold, silver or bronze offering to build
the tabernacle. People obeyed the instruction given by
Moses and brought daily such offerings until one day a sign
was posted on the outside saying “No more offering will be
 accepted until further notice”. While, the people living in
our times are generally capable of building their own house
according to their taste and their status using the best
materials in a fashionable way. When it comes to building
the house of the Lord all the members of the congregation
collectively do not assume this task as their collective
responsibility, but expect money to come from some
unknown and unexpected sources. Further, they also try to
trim the cost of construction by lowering the quality of the
material used for construction and interesting or sadly there
was an actual case that was referred to court ruling because
that Church committee was equally divided regarding the
issue of using marble floor or cement floor for the sanctuary,
while it was normal in their times and culture to use marble
floors for their bathrooms in their houses, many people of
that Church thought that they should not waste money in
using marble floor, but it will be good enough to use cement
floor in the Church since after all Jesus Christ was born in a
manger. I personally and strongly believe that the Churches
should be the most attractive and expensive buildings in the
town with work of art and use of precious stones even with a
tower rising above the tallest building in the town.
Interestingly, in European cities there is a law that prohibits
construction of commercial or residential building above the
steeples of the Churches in those cities. I believe it took 250
years to construct the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris,
France using the best artists, sculptors and architects.

b. The Spiritual Administration of the Church

As mentioned in the Bible it is quite in order to have Episcopal Churches
meaning there by that Church group should be governed by Bishops who
meet certain specific spiritual qualities, and by Pastors assisted by Deacons
and Elders. Their roles are well defined in the Bible, and the qualifications
of each one of them is also fully explained in order to maintain the spiritual
standards of those who serve God in these capacities. Serving God in one of
these capacities is an awesome responsibility and they are fully accountable
to God for any misuse of power or resources of the Church. Various
positions as mentioned above should not be filled merely by the majority
votes but by the spiritual qualifications. It is a shame that in many Churches
this process of selection of the Bishops and even Elders and Deacons is done
in a very demeaning and degrading fashion, going down to the extent of
giving money and special treats to get the votes of the members for certain
individuals to win for the simple reason that large sums of money and
property worth a lot of value is involved in the administration and there is
room or opportunity for these office bearers to misuse or misappropriate
these funds for their selfish ends. It is shame even to mention about
operating worse than the political opposition parties by giving bribes or even
threatening the members to cast their ballots in favor of certain specific
candidates who are backed up by the majority of a party or a caste of the
members of the Church.

c. The Management of the Organization of the Church

While modern management principles are used to manage the governmental
and business organizations to be successful, it is important that such
principles should be used in the management of the Church also. As a matter
of fact every management principle in the management textbook is derived
from a scriptural principle and it is needless to say that Jesus Christ is the
manager of the entire universe and use of proven and tested management
principles are not in violation of the Biblical principles. A scriptural term
that can be used in this context is “Good Stewardship”.

d. The Setting and Accomplishing the Goals of the Church Growth

The five important such goals of any Church should be the following:
1. Spiritual Growth
2. Numerical Growth
3. Financial Growth
4. Physical Growth
5. Geographical Growth

1. Spiritual Growth
It is important that every member of the Church is adequate fed to grow
spiritually to become more and more Christ like and to become true disciples
of Jesus Christ. Further, they should also find their niche in the body of
Christ (local Church) and even to discover God’s will for their lives in the
universal Church. It is important that God’s will is fulfilled in the lives of
every member of the Church.

2. Numerical Growth
As the Church grows spiritually everyone will be involved in some kind of
evangelistic or outreach work which will result in ushering more souls into
the local Church. Therefore, the numerical growth of the Church should be
the normal and natural phenomenon if everything is done right on the
spiritual side.

3. Financial Growth
When more members are ushered into the Church or more souls are saved
and baptized they will become full fledged members of the Church and
begin to give all of their tithes and offerings as mentioned already and this
will result in the financial growth of the Church.

4. Physical Growth
When there is a numerical and financial growth in the Church they should
plan to build more Churches in the neighborhood or even in distant places
where they have members of their Church for them to gather and worship on
a regular basis. This is how branch Churches should be formed.

5. Geographical Growth
As more Churches are built in the surrounding areas there will be
geographical growth, but in addition to this they may also send teams of
workers and evangelists from the local Church to distant places and focus
their evangelistic efforts in certain specific geographic areas which will
result in a great harvest of souls requiring additional Churches to be built to
cater to their needs. It is not uncommon for some missionaries to merge
from local Churches with a passion and vision to go to some tribal areas or
foreign countries to work among different language and cultural groups and
to have a harvest of souls. As a matter of fact this is a commandment given
by God, and that is to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature.

4. Meditating the Word

It is important that we learn and meditate the word of God. It is not
enough if we just read a few verses or a chapter of the Bible daily. We
must meditate the word of God, which involves the following things.
A. Memorization:
When we repeatedly read a verse or a few verses or a passage of scripture
concentrating on it, and try to recall it over and over again several times
during the day we will automatically memorize those scriptures
B. Repetition
We should then recall and repeat the verses several times, at which time
the verses will infiltrate and assimilate into our whole body, spirit, will
mind, emotion and soul. The Bible says “Let the word of God dwell you
in you richly”. We will be saturated with the word of God which is spirit.
C. Personalization
Another suggestion is to rephrase the verses in such a way that that we
will not read the verse as it is written, as though we are telling some one
else what is written in the scripture, but rephrase it as taking the scripture
for ourselves. For example concerning scripture in Psalm 91, instead of
saying, “I will satisfy you with long life and show you my salvation, you
should probably say it as, “God will satisfy me with long life and show
me is salvation”. You must appropriate for your self God’s promise in
this psalm. This will also build your faith. As the Bible says, “every
promise in the book is mine…”
D. Vocalization
It is also important to vocalize the scriptures after you personalize them,
because spoken word has power. It is like proclaiming it or giving a
command or appropriating and affirming it.
D. Visualization
Another important step in meditation is to imagine yourself as though
you are appropriating and enjoying that promise in your own life. Going
back to the example cited above, imagine yourself as a grand mother or
grand father, telling Bible stories to your grand children when you are 70
plus with some grey hair, wearing glasses.

When you visualize the promise in the scripture that says, that
whatsoever you do shall prosper, imagine yourself to be prosper in all
areas of your life, no matter what your current situation is.

E. Appropriation
When you start meditating the relevant promise in the scripture in this
fashion you will have the state of mind as though have already received
the blessing for which you are praying.

F. Reading the Word of God

Of course it is important to read the word, but when you do instead of
dwelling on the Logos (the written word) you should spiritually discern
the Rhema, the revealed word, which is the spiritual meaning of the
word, that will be revealed to you by the Holy Spirit, as you seek the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.

It is very important to note that any revelation that we get from the Word
of God that we read can never be forgotten. The impact of the meaning
and the power of the Word will be so great that it will simply
revolutionize our life, through a decision that we make to apply it in our
life and to actually apply it and get a great blessing. Let me throw in
some examples at this point, of scriptures that made a great impact in my
personal life, because of the revelation knowledge I received about it
through the Holy Spirit, and the application of the scripture in my
personal life and ministry.

 Genesis 1:26 “ and God said, let us make man in our image and
our own likeness and let them have dominion over the ….. over
the fish ….. and over all the earth”
This scripture helps me to understand the potential that we have
within us and gave me the boldness to launch out to do things
which may sound impossible and to use creativity in us to solve
any problem and to achieve anything without any kind of
limitation, always exercising authority and dominion over
everything around us.
 Genesis 6:5 “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in this earth and his every imagination and thoughts were only
evil continually.
It is needless to say this is the reason why God had to make a
decision to destroy the whole world, by causing rain to fall in this
earth for 40 days and 40 nights to destroy every living creatures
sparing only samples of every species and kinds of every living
creature to be saved by Noah the only just man in his generation
by taking them on board in the ark that God instructed him to
make in a specific wood as per the plan that he gave. In this
context we also read the Noah walked with God. It is important
that we walk with God daily maintaining close communion and
fellowship with God, loving him, obeying his commandments
and be holy as God is holy.
  Ref: “For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he”
The Bible also says that your thoughts shall be established. God
has given us incredible ability and also has given us the mind of
Christ. Therefore we have the potential to literally do anything
that we can imagine.
 Psalm 91:16 or the long life I will satisfy and ……
It is God’s promise to everyone. He promised to let every
believer live until they are satisfied.
 Psalm 68:19 “blessed be the lord who daily loadeth us with
benefits. Based on this scripture we should expect to receive
abundance of blessing everyday from the lord according to his
promise.
 Psalm 37:33 “The steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord”
when we obey God’s commandments and live we don’t have to
worry about anything going wrong in our lives because according
to his word God himself will help us to make every move in our
life which will be the best move that we can make.

5. Holiness
The Bible says, “Be Holy as I am Holy” Therefore we have to realize
that God’s standard of Holiness is His own standard, and nothing
instead of that will be acceptable by God. In this world we are living
people try to establish standards that are convenient and comfortable
for them to maintain. Therefore, we must diligently study the word of
God, and strictly adhere to the standards that God has established for
Holy and Righteous living.

6. Abiding by the Laws of God

In the Bible, there are two kinds of laws.
a. Mandatory, which we are required to do and
b. Prohibitory, which we should avoid doing.
This kinds of laws should be listed and communicated to the
members of the Church, and should be enforced upon the
members of the Church. We can not set a standard that is lower
than the scriptural standards when it comes to morality or social
behavior.

7. Doing the Ministry as an Apostle

The Bible is explicit in explaining and defining the role of Apostles,
and further we have several examples in the Bible itself about the kind
 of lives Apostles lived and the role they played with reference to the
Church and the believers. We cannot lower the scriptural standards
set up in the Bible nor can we limit or extend their role, either to
overlap the roles of others or the kinds of leaders whose roles are well
defined in the Bible. Most important thing about an Apostle is to
maintain the highest spiritual standards in his spiritual life, the
spiritual knowledge and the experience he has, and the boldness with
which he plays his leadership role and in enforcing the laws of God,
with boldness without making any compromise. It is not a matter of
just losing a scriptural title while a person is involved in the ministry
and particularly when he has advanced in age only and not grown in
the knowledge of the Word of God and in exercising the power and
authority of the God representing him boldly and uncompromisingly.

8. Doing the Ministry as a Prophet

The role of a Prophet is not something like a fortune teller. The
purpose of giving prophecies should be primarily for exhortation,
edification and reprimanding. A widely prevalent practice among
today’s prophet is to giving soothing prophecies to get a good offering
from those over whom they prophesy. One needs a lot of courage and
boldness to give prophecy to correct or discipline somebody who is
living a life which is wrong according to the word of God and this
should be actually a revolution they should received from God and not
some information that they have gathered from the people who are
close to the person over whom the prophecy is given. The Prophecy
has to be very specific and not to general. The prophecy should not
be exactly what the Bible says, but at the same time, the essence of the
prophecy should not be contrary to what the Bible says. It is
important that prophets spend a lot of time with God and should be
able to maintain two way communications from him and only when
the Holy Spirit comes over them and gives the prophecy they should
utter them.

9. Doing the Ministry as a Pastor

The pastoral role is to shepherd the flock in the church. They have to
adequately feed the members of the congregation with good and
adequate spiritual food. They should also know the sheep
individually by their strengths and weaknesses and also should know
their individual gifts and talents. The pastor should nurture every
sheep, cause them to grow and mature spiritually and to be able to
 identify and to fulfill God’s will for their lives. The Pastor should
also be willing to sacrifice their own life for the sheep in his flock.
The knowledge of the pastor on the spiritual side of the flock is more
important than to know about other things concerning the sheep. Of
course the gifts of the sheep should be recognized by the pastor and
should be fully utilized for God’s Glory and the Blessings of others.

10.Doing the Ministry as an Evangelist

The ministry of an evangelist should not be confined with in the four
walls. They should be encouraged and guided to choose a mission
field and to concentrate on every soul in their area. Not only the seed
of the word of God should be sown in that area so that every person
living their will have an opportunity to hear the gospel and to accept
the lord but they should also have compassion and mercy for the
needy, sick and suffering and try to cater to their needs. After a soul is
saved such people should be guided to attend a local church where
they can be fed with the Word of God regularly and grow spiritually
and mature.

11.Doing the Ministry as a Teacher

Not too many servants of God call themselves as teachers but this is
one of the five fold ministries approved and recognized by God as
very much needed ministry. As a matter of fact today we do not have
too many teachers in a sense those with a revelation knowledge of the
word of God being able to communicate the Rhema (revealed word)
word from the Logos word (which is the written word of God).
Unless the Teacher gets the revelation himself he cannot properly
teach the truths of the word of God. One cannot be a great teacher by
checking different interpretations or Bible dictionaries or other books
of commentaries on the books of the Bible. Those who write
commentaries on the books of the Bible may be giving the Rhema in
their books but we should be able to discern whether its man’s
interpretation or the interpretation of the Holy Spirit. Just a brief note
to explain the error in the Bible where obviously the translators have
literally interpreted the English Bible in to the Tamil Bible. In Psalm
68:19 there is a verse says that “Lord loadeth us daily with great
benefit” in this scripture the interpreter has given the “load or
loading” which in the third world context means the weight of the
load people who carry from one place to another. Whereas in the
western culture to be loaded can also mean positively implying a
 package of several extra features or provisions added in a motor
vehicle for example to make it a luxury car. Therefore a used car sales
man while showing the used cars in the parking lot to a customer may
point to a particular car and say for example “This car is loaded”,
which means it has many special features or options that a normal car
may not have. A small kid playing in the neighborhood may tell other
kids that he is loaded sticking his hand into his pocket meaning that he
has lot of money.

12.Doing the Ministry as a Deacon

As Compared to the roles of Deacon and Elder, the role of a Deacon is
more related to non spiritual matters as compared to the role of an
Elder whose role is more spiritual in nature. It is not the interchange
of their duties, when they are able to perform it well, it is going to
matter much, but when an Elder is not spiritually matured and gifted
while ministering to a member with some spiritual problems. It is the
responsibility of the pastor to ensure that adequate training is given to
them before they are appointed in these positions. A very unusual
example may be cited here as it is relevant in this context here and
that is one of the Deacons who collected the offerings in the service
along with others always turned out to be the last person to march in a
row not only to take the offering from the people seated in the pews
but also to taking the offerings to the office of the church. The reason
why he is the last one to go in the row carrying the offering was to
take out a big dollar bill from the offering bag without being seen or
noticed by other deacons going ahead of him and putting it in his
pocket before leaving them in the office. I was forewarned or rather
advised by my brother who was one of the members of the church to
sit in a strategic location to watch closely what happens every Sunday.
As a matter of fact I was the last one to drop my offering in his bag
after I specifically marked the number of that $ 100 bill. I saw this
particular Deacon putting in that offering bag and taking out the $ 100
bill lying at the top and putting it in his pocket. Later on when we
checked the offerings there was no other $ 100 bill in that bag which
proved with no doubt of shadow that he was actually robbing from the
offering bag. When this matter was brought to the attention of the
pastor he said that this deacon was one of the senior members of the
church and was a man of influence and respect, and therefore he
cannot bring this up as an issue because his own elected position will
 be in jeopardy.

13.Ministering to the members of other churches

It is unethical to give counseling or to offer special prayers to
members of other churches unless he is referred to by the pastor of the
church because these kind of practices are misused to attract them to
their own church leaving the church in which they may be members
for a long time. This is like enticing the members of one church away
to another church.

14.Doing the Word of God and hearers only

Another responsibility of the pastor of the local church is just not to
preach and teach but giving the members some practical exercise to
put those principles into practice and to share their experiences for the
benefit of other in the church.

15.Being a Disciple of Christ

The primary purpose of running a local church is to making everyone
a disciple of Jesus Christ to grow in his stature and image.

16.Living a holy and righteous life

When once the sinners are saved, they are also cleansed from all
unrighteousness and made holy. But after being forgiven and cleansed
they should not be tempted to go back to their own sinful life.
It is like eating whatever one has vomited.

17.Misusing the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

It is important to have full knowledge of all the 9 gifts of the holy
spirit and also must have a desire to use them for the edification of the
body of Christ. Any misuse of these gifts should be corrected
immediately by the pastor. He should also teach them concerning
these gifts and motivating them receive and to use these gifts.

18.Not Bearing the fruit of the Spirit

Other spiritual growth can be checked through the spiritual fruit
owned by the believers of the church such as love, joy, peace, long
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.
Even though these spiritual qualities are related to each other, yet they
can be distinguished. It is the role of the pastor to not only to teach the
members about the importance of bearing the fruits of the spirit but
 also to exercise and display these spiritual characteristics in their own
life as they interact with others which will be a true testimony of the
fact that God has transformed them in his own image and after his
likeness.

19.Not keeping the Ten Commandments

Ten commandments are not applicable only to those who lived in the
Old Testament times. It is as relevant and as important now as it was
in the Old Testament times. If these commandments are not followed
today people will be literally living in sin and guilty of condemnation
and death. In the day and age in which we live there is no excuse for
any one to be ignorant of the 10 commandment because it is easy for
anyone to know them even by doing a search in the website. Further
these 10 commandments are inscribed on the walls of important
public buildings. It is only because of the fact that people feel guilty
of these 10 commandments measures are taken even in some Christian
countries to erase the inscription of 10 commandments that have been
there for a long time.

20.Violating God’s Laws

All Christians should know that God has made it possible for every
human being to know in their conscience as to what is morally right or
wrong, even though one may be illiterate. Therefore it is said in the
Bible that God will also judge ultimately even according to the
conscience of the person.

21.Not having the right attitude towards the:

a. Servants of God
Every Christian should give due respect to God’s servants and
treat them courteously and even honor them with an offering.
b. Poor People
Every Christian should have compassion for the poor and help
them liberally according to their needs.
c. Sinners
Christians should not condemn sinners but should help them
with true compassion and love by interceding on their behalf to
be saved and also show God’s love to them and not
condemning them.
 d. Sick and the Suffering etc.
It is the duty of every Christian to have true compassion for the
sick and suffering and to pray for them for their healing after
sharing the sufferings of Christ, for the sake of the sick to be
healed.

These are just a few examples given to illustrate the importance of

clarifying the fundamentals of the laws of the Bible, to ensure that
people strictly comply with these laws of God, recorded in the
Bible, and not just interpret them to suit their convenience and to
justify their life style by misinterpreting the laws of God.

In conclusion I would say, that the people that we come across

should see Jesus in us, in our attitude, behavior and our life style!!!

XI. CONCLUSION
There are a number of good reasons for fulfilling our moral obligations and
ethical responsibilities to several groups of people. But at the same time
probably there is not even one good or valid reason for violating the ethical
principles. The Bible says that what we do to others shall be done unto us.
(Matthew 7:12). What we sow shall we also reap (Galatians 6:7). If we
sow bountifully we shall also reap bountifully and if we sow sparingly we
shall also reap sparingly (II Corinthians 9:6).
The Bible says that when we lose or forsake anything for the sake of the
gospel, we will receive a hundred fold return now and later. (Mark 10:29-
30). Further, the Bible says that no one can become rich by keeping
everything to himself, nor can anyone become poor by giving to others.
There are several other illustrations in the Bible, which clearly indicate
these powerful truths. The Bible says that a person that digs a ditch will
fall into it himself. A person that draws a sword will fall by the sword.
When we give, it shall be given back to us, a good measure, pressed
down, shaken together and running over, will men give unto our bosom
(Luke 6:38).
Jesus is our perfect example. We must pattern our life after him. He was
absolutely holy, righteous and perfect. The Bible says that we should be
holy as God is holy (20:7). Ephesians 5:13 says, we all should become
perfect unto the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ. Romans
8:29 says, that we have been predestined to be conformed to the image of
Jesus. Galatians 4:19 says, that Jesus Christ in us must be fully
developed and formed. John 1:12 says, that we have been given power to
become the sons of God. John the Baptist said that we should decrease
and Jesus in us should increase.

All servants of God are expected to maintain the highest moral and ethical
standards in conduct, behavior, family relationship, social life, personal life,
ministry, financial transactions, dealing with other ministries, government
and public, etc. Further it is important to do this to have maximum
fulfillment, satisfaction and rewards in life. In other words, we will not be
doing a special favor to men or God by maintaining high moral and ethical
standards, but will only be doing ourselves a favor. We will benefit more
than anybody else. Since we represent God as His ambassadors, we
must reflect Him through our conduct and behavior. People in this world
can see Jesus only in and through us. People can hear the words of
Jesus only through our mouth. People can receive blessings from Jesus
only through our hands. The Gospel can be carried to the ends of the
earth only through our feet. The cry of the hungry, the needy, the
suffering, the neglected and the down trodden can be heard by Jesus, only
through our ears. This means that we should represent Jesus to do His
ministry, and put ourselves in the place of Jesus and have an awesome
responsibility to do what Jesus would do if He were in our situation. This is
the moral and ethical standard that the servants of God should maintain in
their life and ministry. Ultimately, the judge of our conduct and behavior is
God Himself and no one can deceive Him.
In conclusion, the benefits of fulfilling one's moral obligations and
maintaining ethical standards required of
1. The benefits and the blessings that result from fulfilling our ethical and
moral obligations outweigh the cost.
2. When we are good and faithful in a few things, God will reward us
richly.
3. When we fulfill our moral and ethical obligations, God will include our
names in Heaven's payroll.
4. When we forsake or lose anything for the sake of the gospel, God has
promised to give us a hundred-fold return.
5. God has laid up the wealth of the sinners for the just.
6. Being the representatives and the ambassadors of God, we have the
obligation to maintain the highest moral and ethical standards in our
personal
life and in our ministry.
7. The desires of the righteous shall be fulfilled.
8. We can obtain all the promises of God, if we meet the scriptural
standards
 and conditions.
9. Only those who are faithful in fulfilling their moral and ethical
obligations can have real success and fulfillment in life.
10. We can have peace and be free from worry, fear and guilt feeling,
only when
we fulfill our moral responsibilities.
11. We can enjoy our full freedom and independence only when we do
everything right in the sight of God.
12. We can have the fullness of joy only when we lead a holy and
righteous life acceptable to God.

– The End –