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If you were to dream about your life having a significant impact on God’s Kingdom, what would your dream look like? Would it be dramatic? Would it involve intense persecution or heroic acts? Would it be public and impact thousands? Would you expect it to be talked about in “top 100 events in Christian history” lists in centuries to come?
Here are a few dramatic moments in Christian history.
This morning, we are going to focus in on three ways that your life can have a significant impact on God’s Kingdom. I’ve titled the message, “Enduring All Things for the Gospel.” But, although these three pursuits can have a significant impact, they won’t feel dramatic, or earth shattering as we look at them. Such is often the way with God’s economy of things.
We are nearly halfway through our series in 1 Corinthians called, “Being God’s People.” In Chapters 8-10, Paul is dealing with some specific questions the Corinthians had about eating food sacrificed to idols. This particular debate feels very distant from our own experience. If you missed Daniel’s sermon last week on Chapter 8, you may want to go back and listen to it to have a greater understanding of the issue.
Chapter 9 may feel like Paul is diverging from this topic, but it’s not that simple. He ended Chapter 8 by calling on believers to limit their own freedoms for the sake of their weaker brothers. Now, Paul is going to use his own life as an extended example of what it looks like to lay aside his own rights for the sake of the gospel. In Chapter 11:1, Paul will return back to the theme of calling the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ.
Here are three ways that we must Endure All things for the Gospel.
We live in an age obsessed with rights and autonomy. On one hand, we should be grateful that we have received such a rich, western, constitutional inheritance, including the Bill of Rights. I’m truly thankful that we have governmentally protected freedom of assembly and speech and religious expression, as well as the many other freedoms and rights guaranteed to citizens. On the other hand, it is very unfortunate that our current cultural milieu conceives of rights so wrongly. Now, it seems that others do not merely demand the right to think or act certain ways, but demand approval and applause from those who disagree with them.
An overemphasis on rights can quickly enter the Christian’s worldview as well. This was part of the problem in Corinth.
The passage last Sunday ended with a very emphatic statement.
Paul is in the middle of addressing the Corinthians’ debate over meat sacrificed to idols. They had asked Paul to take sides in the debate. Some in Corinth were convinced that they had the right to eat meat sacrificed to idols, since an idol isn’t really anything—there is only one God.
Paul’s bold conclusion is that the mature, wise Corinthians should relinquish their rights for the sake of the weaker brother.
Now, in Chapter 9, Paul will give an extended example showing that he practices what he preaches.
1 Corinthians 9:1–6 (ESV)
Instead of launching into another argument about food sacrificed to idols, which was a disputable issue, Paul now brings up a more certain right—that the ministers of the gospel were to be supported financially. First, Paul establishes that he is an Apostle. Then, he will give argument after argument for why he and Barnabas (as well as other gospel ministers) should be supported financially.
Paul gives three statements establishing this right.
As an aside, notice that Paul claims that he and Barnabas are apostles in vs. 5—“as do the other apostles…” There is typically no argument that Paul was an apostle, but here is evidence that Barnabas was considered one as well.
The three statements in vs. 4-6 all have to do with the same issue, being supported financially. Don’t connect “eating and drinking” with the Chapter 8 argument about meat sacrificed to idols. Here, Paul is referring to being provided for by the community in which he is ministering.
The same is true for the statement about the right to take along a believing wife. Most likely, this is not a statement about the right for Apostles to marry; it is a statement that the Apostles had the right for their spouse to be provided for alongside them as they ministered to the churches.
Next, Paul will give a lot of reasons why ministers should be supported for their work.
1 Corinthians 9:7–12 (ESV)
Paul begins with a cultural argument with soldiers, gardeners, and shepherds. Of course they should be provided for out of their work. Paul even appeals to the law in Deuteronomy that you shouldn’t starve the Ox while it is working.
It was widely understood in Corinthian culture that a teacher/orator should be supported by his followers. In fact, it was not that different from some unhealthy Christian circles today that measure the success of a teacher’s message by how much money he receives from his followers.
Paul continues making his argument in vs. 13.
1 Corinthians 9:13–14 (ESV)
Paul makes a final appeal to the religious practice in the temple as well as the teachings of Jesus. The Levites who served in the Temple did not receive an inheritance like the rest of the tribes in Israel, but they were provided for by the other tribes and the sacrificial system.
The reference to the teaching of Jesus is most likely from Matthew.
Matthew 10:9–10 (ESV) — Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
Paul really goes out of his way to pile on reason after reason why ministers should be supported financially. He firmly establishes this right, but for what reason?
He firmly establishes this right so that he can turn around and refuse to accept it.
Paul continues his refusal in vv. 15-18.
1 Corinthians 9:15–18 (ESV)
Paul is determined not to put any obstacle in the way of sharing the gospel in Corinth. This means he will relinquish his right to being supported by the church in Corinth for his gospel work.
Please don’t imagine that Paul’s purpose was to make his own life as difficult as possible as an end in itself. He was not saying “look how hard I have it!” Paul sometimes claimed his rights. There were times he claimed his right as a Roman citizen. There were times when accepted funding for his ministry to other places. Paul made these decisions based on what served the mission. Here, in Corinth, it served the gospel mission to earn his own living with his own hands. In verse 12b he tells us why he did this—to keep from putting any obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ.
Thus far, we have two reasons to relinquish our own personal rights.
It is important to remember who the weaker brother is from Chapter 8. I do appreciate D.A. Carson’s explanation in The Cross and Christian Ministry.
We should have these two categories in mind for when we should relinquish our rights.
What are some of the rights we might hold to?
Another way to ask this may be: what are some good things you are willing to give up for the sake of serving others?
Paul’s decision cost him. It made his life harder.
It’s important to remember that the biblical reason for relinquishing your rights are for the good of others, either inside or outside the church. It is not to be a people-pleaser.
Paul expands on his willingness to be flexible in his ministry to others in verses 19-23.
1 Corinthians 9:19–23 (ESV)
Paul makes clear in verse 19 that he isn’t doing it out of obedience to others, but out of service to others. He is free, but he makes himself a servant to all. Instead of using his own freedom and knowledge to maximize his own comfort and enjoyment of life, he adjusts his own freedoms in order to serve the purposes of God and the spreading of the Gospel.
The Corinthians understand freedom in terms of the slogan “All things are lawful to me” (6:12; 10:23). Paul redefines “freedom” for them (9:1, 19; 10:29) so that it excludes the pursuit of self-interest and instead makes the well-being of the community paramount.
- Garland, David E. Baker Exegetical Commentary.
It may be helpful to remember the context of the early church. There was a strong division between Jew and Gentile, with the accompanying controversies. Paul had to withstand Peter to the face at one point because the clarity of the Gospel was at stake. There was even a church council called in Jerusalem to help settle some of the debates about how the Jewish laws were to be applied to Gentile believers.
Culturally, and religiously, each of the groups that Paul references would exclude the other. Paul was eager for Jews and Gentiles to put their faith in Jesus alone for salvation. We come at these controversies from the other side with all of the New Testament revelation to help us untangle the issues.
We also live in a divisive time. The Jew/Gentile controversies typically do not affect us much. But, the church has been entangled in various issues in every age. Perhaps the most recent example for us might be all of the disagreements over political and social decisions throughout the last three years. Masks, COVID vaccinations, the relationship between the church and Government orders, Presidential politics. Thankfully, I believe we have emerged on the other side of many of those issues, but not without pain or loss, and the opportunities for offense and division remain. I don’t bring these issues up now to reignite the embers of division, but to remind us that the issues of the day for the church are often issues that matter.
For Paul and the Corinthians, how Jews and Gentiles related, and how Christians understood the Law of God were very big deals. They were theological, not merely cultural. These issues mattered. How one approached them could even affect the Gospel message itself.
What I want us to notice is how flexible Paul was in order to reach people with the Gospel. These were not issues that he was unsure about. He had firm convictions that Gentiles were not under obligation to be circumcised in order to be right with God. Yet, there were times that he “became a Jew in order to win Jews.” Notice how radical even that statement is. Paul says he “became” a Jews to win Jews. Paul no longer even recognized his Jewishness as his primary identity—he had to “become” Jewish. If you remember, at one point, Paul even circumcised Timothy in order to gain an opportunity to evangelize the Jews. Paul was not confused here about salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ, but he was all things to all people that he might win some.
This has been a perennial challenge for missionaries. It is sometimes difficult to separate Biblical commands from how they are worked out in individual cultural contexts. Paul gives us a strong model.
How far does this flexibility flex before it breaks something? Paul puts some boundaries on his flexibility with his parenthetical statements in vv. 20-21.
D.A. Carson helps us think through this question in his work, The Cross and Christian Ministry.
Whatever God demands of him as a new-covenant believer, a Christian, binds him; he cannot step outside those constraints. There is a rigid limit to his flexibility as he seeks to win the lost from different cultural and religious groups: he must not do anything that is forbidden to the Christian, and he must do everything mandated of the Christian. He is not free from God’s law; he is under Christ’s law.
- Carson, D. A. The Cross and Christian Ministry.
What are the boundaries?
Though we can and should reason from what is directly commanded or forbidden to fill out our ethics and our worship, it is important to recognize when we’ve come at something through reasoning the implications of a command vs. the command itself. This is hard work, and Paul gives us an excellent example. Again from Carson:
Although Paul was an extraordinarily flexible apostle and evangelist, he had sorted through elemental Christianity in a profound and nuanced way so that he knew when he could be flexible and when he should not bend. In other words, his grasp of theology enabled him to know who he was, what was expected of him, what he was free to do, and what he should not consider doing under any circumstances.
- Carson, D. A. The Cross and Christian Ministry.
Let’s look one more time at why Paul does this. He frames this section with two statements.
1 Corinthians 9:19 (ESV)
1 Corinthians 9:23 (ESV)
We are accustomed to saying that we do everything for the glory of God, and this is a great aim. But, Paul is more specific here. “The Gospel” is not merely Christian-speak for “God’s plan” or “God’s glory.” Paul is referring to the message of salvation, and the saving of the lost.
Paul is even more specific than that in vs. 19. He makes himself a servant to all, that he might win more of them. This presses us in a helpful way to consider changing how we interact with others in order to win more to Christ.
Hear Paul’s zeal. Hear his heart for the lost to be saved. Hear his willingness to stretch himself—to limit his own freedoms—to give up his own preferences in order to win more people to God’s Kingdom. This should remind us of God’s calling on Paul’s life.
Acts 26:17–18 (ESV) — …I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
But this also reminds us of God’s own heart for the lost. In Peter’s second letter, he explains why the Lord is delaying his return.
2 Peter 3:8–9 (ESV) — But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
The Lord is working out his plan, and Paul focused his own life in order to save as many people as possible.
Why do you do the things you do? Is the salvation of the lost a factor?
We have considered the calling to relinquish our rights for the sake of others and utilizing our freedom in Christ in the service of others. Now let’s consider Paul’s call to discipline yourself for the sake of the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (ESV)
It is quite possible that the Isthmian games took place in Corinth while Paul was there. These games which took place every second year were the largest athletic event other than the Olympics, and would have featured many of the same contestants. This imagery from Paul would resonate with the Corinthians.
Occasionally, I come across a Greek word that connects to English in a particularly emotional way. There is one of those right here. The Greek root for “athlete” is ἀγωνίζομαι. It is translated as struggle, strive, or fight. It doesn’t mean “agony” but you can see the relationship.
One of my commentaries on this passage referenced a quote by Tertullian.
Tertullian (Ad martyras To the Martyrs 3.3) also uses the metaphor: “Athletes are set apart for more rigid training to apply themselves to the building up of their physical strength. They are kept from lavish living, from more tempting dishes, from more pleasurable drinks. They are urged on, they are subjected to tortuous toils, they are worn out. The more strenuously they have exerted themselves, the greater is their hope of victory.”
- Garland, David E. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament.
You can hear similar themes in Paul.
The word for “discipline” here means to give a black eye, to beat, to treat roughly, to torment.
We have a few runners in the room. I’ve been to a few races, and to many practices. In fact, I’ve run (if that’s the right verb) a little myself. Now, if you saw me running, I seriously doubt that you would look at me and say to your son, “Son, look at that man over there. He is running to win. Look at his discipline. Look at his form. Look at his effort.” You would probably say, “Son, look at that man pretending to run.”
I don’t think you would ever see a runner that’s running to win and think that he or she was running aimlessly. You would not think they were “beating the air.” By the way, if you need a biblical prooftext for not having a video game console (well, at least a Wii), then you have it right here.
Paul’s point is obviously not about video games, but he is making a point that we must not merely pretend to do a thing. We have to actually do it. It’s amazing how different these two things can be. I found myself scrolling on YouTube last week and found myself watching a video of a guy mowing a terribly unkept yard. There were overgrown bushes everywhere, tall grass that was taking over the sidewalk. It was terrible. But there was strange pleasure in watching it be transformed. You may say, “John, what’s the problem with that?” Well, I could have been mowing my very unkept yard. I have leaves everywhere, limbs down, weeds growing. I was finding some satisfaction in watching some other guy tame a yard, when the real thing was available to me a few simple steps away. I did get out to the mower a few days later, and that was definitely more satisfying than the video (because it was real).
We must not merely pretend to live the Christian life, or to observe it from the outside. There is a striving, an engagement, a personal sacrifice.
We must each run in such a way as to obtain the prize.
Holiness
Hebrews 12:14 (ESV) — Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Godliness
1 Timothy 4:7 (ESV) — Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;
Salvation
Luke 13:24 (ESV) — “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
The Salvation of others
Remember where we began this morning. If you were to dream about how you could have a major impact on God’s kingdom, what would your dream look like? Would it be heroic and far reaching? Would it be dramatic?
We’ve looked this morning at three ways we need to work for the sake of the Gospel. These are every-day, rubber-meets-the-road decision. They are not flashy. They likely won’t make you famous. But they will have a significant impact on others. We must relinquish our rights, utilize our freedoms, and discipline ourselves for the sake of the gospel.
I’d like to leave you with three words to help you consider applying this passage to your own life—Posture, Purpose, and Prize.
What is your posture toward others?
Do you willingly put yourself in the posture and position of serving others for the sake of the Gospel? This doesn’t happen automatically.
If you find yourself saying, “I have rights!” in your relationships, this is a good clue that you may need to consider specific ways that God wants you to have a posture of serving others for the sake of the kingdom.
This is a posture of humility before God and others. It is also a posture fueled by grace. We cannot serve others in order to be approved by God. Rather, it is the grace of God at work in our lives that frees us to lay down our lives for others.
Asking why you do what you do is a clarifying exercise.
When you’re honest, does the kingdom of God and the spread of the gospel truly operate as a purpose for why you do what you do?
This is not just a question about why you do spiritual things like attending church or small group, but a wholistic question about how you orient all of the important decisions and daily patterns in your life.
Perhaps you and your family should take a look at your schedule, your hobbies, your educational strategies, your extracurricular activities, your work commitments, and your daily routines.
Keep the prize in mind. What reward are you seeking? Is it primarily a reward in this life? We are not only striving for what can be enjoyed and achieved in this life. Every sacrifice in the service of God and his purposes will be rewarded in the next.
Galatians 6:9 (ESV) — And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
The greatest prize is eternal life in Christ. This cannot be earned by our hard work or sacrifice.
Romans 5:8 (ESV) — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Father, help us to lay down our lives for others in the service of their salvation and the spreading of the Gospel.
Here are some other recent messages.
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