True ministers yield to none because they answer to One. Like Paul they can say “do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ…(Galatians 1:10). True ministers are men who count it a very small thing to be judged of men for “he that judgeth me is the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:4).”

The first business of the Minister of the gospel is to honour his Master.  After all, the minister has been appointed by God.  He is an under shepherd.  The Master is Jesus.  The Lord of the house is Jesus.  The church, then, is His house not the minister’s house.  There is One King; and so the servant—or pastor—who has been given charge over the church must concern himself first and foremost with honouring his Master.

When the preacher is sorting out what to preach or write you don’t want him consulting man.  You don’t want him taking polls from the congregation, or consulting with the lusts of his own flesh. You want him alone in the place of prayer—Bible open—consulting God.

Everything He does is first for the Lord Jesus.  Everything is to honour Him.  He preaches to get glory and praise for Christ.  He rules and governs and labours and serves to bring glory to God.  Popularity, the praise of man, and the favour of the world, are all as nothing to him… he courts the praise of but One.

He lives for an audience of but One.  He answers to One.

There is something about Moses coming down from the mount to speak to the people that should be found in every minister—we are to be men who come from the mount of communion with God to speak to men.  We are messengers…our whole reason for being as ministers is to labour for the honour of Jesus Christ. And so while it may not be considered diplomatic or politically correct or even prudent to speak (or write) of this thing or the other thing, we will speak it anyway. We will preach the whole counsel of God and hold nothing back.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]