If I preach because I want to, I get a reward. If I preach because I have to, I’m only doing my duty.

我若甘心做这事，就有赏赐；若不甘心，责任却已经托付我了。

我若甘心做这事，就有赏赐；若不甘心，责任却已经托付给我了。

我若甘心做这事，就有赏赐；若不甘心，责任却已经托付给我了。

我若甘心乐意地传福音，就可以得奖赏；我若不甘愿，责任也已经委托给我了。

如果我甘心作这事，就有赏赐；即使不甘心，这职责还是托付我了。

如果我自愿做这事，就有报偿；如果我不自愿，这任务也已经委托给我了。

我若甘心做這事，就有賞賜；若不甘心，責任卻已經託付我了。

我若甘心做這事，就有賞賜；若不甘心，責任卻已經託付給我了。

我若甘心做這事，就有賞賜；若不甘心，責任卻已經託付給我了。

我若甘心樂意地傳福音，就可以得獎賞；我若不甘願，責任也已經委託給我了。

如果我甘心作這事，就有賞賜；即使不甘心，這職責還是託付我了。

我若甘心作這事，便有賞報；若不甘心，管家職責也已託付我了。

如果我自願做這事，就有報償；如果我不自願，這任務也已經委託給我了。

若我有志為之、則有賞、即非我志、其任已託於我、

且無為而為之、此吾所以自詡、有為而為之、則吾惟任其責、

我若樂意為此、則必得賞、若不樂意、則其任仍託於我、

若予之傳道為出於自動、則受酬宜也、今既有所受命、則在予為一受託之義務而已。

If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.

For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.

If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust.

For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a commission.

For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a commission nonetheless.

For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

For if I do this of mine own will, I have a reward: but if not of mine own will, I have a stewardship intrusted to me.

For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship.

For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation[ of the gospel] is committed unto me.

For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward. But if I do it unwillingly, I am entrusted with a responsibility.

For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.

In fact, it was just the opposite. They recognized the task I had been trusted with. It was the task of preaching the good news to the Gentiles. My task was like Peter’s task. He had been trusted with the task of preaching to the Jews.

The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. The Lord will give each of them a reward for their work.

Suppose someone welcomes a prophet as a prophet. They will receive a prophet’s reward. And suppose someone welcomes a godly person as a godly person. They will receive a godly person’s reward.

I serve the church. God appointed me to bring the complete word of God to you.

So here is how you should think of us. We serve Christ. We are trusted with the mysteries God has shown us.

Sometimes I think,“ I won’t talk about his message anymore. I’ll never speak in his name again.” But then your message burns in my heart. It’s like a fire deep inside my bones. I’m tired of holding it in. In fact, I can’t.

“ My son Solomon, always remember the God of your father. Serve him with all your heart. Do it with a mind that wants to obey him. The Lord looks deep down inside every heart. He understands every desire and every thought. If you look to him, you will find him. But if you desert him, he will turn his back on you forever.

Be shepherds of God’s flock, the believers under your care. Watch over them, though not because you have to. Instead, do it because you want to. That’s what God wants you to do. Don’t do it because you want to get money in dishonest ways. Do it because you really want to serve.Don’t act as if you were a ruler over those under your care. Instead, be examples to the flock.The Chief Shepherd will come again. Then you will receive the crown of glory. It is a crown that will never fade away.

If the building doesn’t burn up, God will give the builder a reward for the work.

The people thanked everyone who agreed to live in Jerusalem.

Then the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. My spirit was bitter. I was very angry. The power of the Lord was on me.

The people were happy when they saw what their leaders had been willing to give. The leaders had given freely. With their whole heart they had given everything to the Lord. King David was filled with joy.

Use it for the gold work and the silver work. Use it for everything the skilled workers will do. How many of you are willing to set yourselves apart to the Lord today?”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord. He said,“ Who will I send? Who will go for us?” I said,“ Here I am. Send me!”

See, I have told you ahead of time.

In fact, it is just the opposite. God has approved us to preach. He has trusted us with the good news. We aren’t trying to please people. We want to please God. He tests our hearts.

But Jonah ran away from the Lord. He headed for Tarshish. So he went down to the port of Joppa. There he found a ship that was going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board. Then he sailed for Tarshish. He was running away from the Lord.

But when I preach the good news, I can’t brag. I have to preach it. How terrible it will be for me if I do not preach the good news!

But Moses said,“ Lord, please send someone else to do it.”Then the Lord became very angry with Moses. He said,“ What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you. He will be glad to see you.

But I didn’t want to do anything unless you agreed. Any favor you do must be done because you want to do it, not because you have to.

Do you really want to give? Then the gift is measured by what someone has. It is not measured by what they don’t have.

The last group acts out of love. They know I have been put here to be a witness for the good news.But the others preach about Christ only to get ahead. They preach Christ for the wrong reasons. They think they can stir up trouble for me while I am being held by chains.

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong. He became angry.He prayed to the Lord. Here is what Jonah said to him.“ Lord, isn’t this exactly what I thought would happen when I was still at home? That is what I tried to prevent by running away to Tarshish. I knew that you are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people. You don’t want to destroy them.Lord, take away my life. I’d rather die than live.”

True teaching agrees with the good news about the glory of the blessed God. He trusted me with that good news.I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him.I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer.

The Lord answered,“ Suppose a master puts one of his servants in charge of his other servants. The servant’s job is to give them the food they are to receive at the right time. The master wants a faithful and wise manager for this.

“ You might as well shut the temple doors! Then you would not light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord.“ I will not accept any of the offerings you bring.

I am sure you have heard that God appointed me to share his grace with you.I’m talking about the mystery God showed me. I have already written a little about it.By reading about this mystery, you will be able to understand what I know. You will know about the mystery of Christ.The mystery was not made known to people of other times. But now the Holy Spirit has made this mystery known to God’s holy apostles and prophets.Here is the mystery. Because of the good news, God’s promises are for Gentiles as well as for Jews. Both groups are parts of one body. They share in the promise. It belongs to them because they belong to Christ Jesus.I now serve the good news because God gave me his grace. His power is at work in me.I am by far the least important of all the Lord’s holy people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the Gentiles about the unlimited riches that Christ gives.

“ But who am I? And who are my people? Without your help we wouldn’t be able to give this much. Everything comes from you. We’ve given back to you only what comes from you.