For the Sake of the Gospel

1 Corinthians 9:1-27 - Riley Boggs

On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key penned the great “Star-Spangled Banner”, ending the anthem with the lines we all know, “land of the free, and home of the brave.” This was the first time someone formally called America the land of the free, and man it stuck. We Americans love our freedom. We love talking about it, boasting about it, and celebrating it, and rightfully so. The freedoms we have been afforded in the United States are wonderful, and we should be thankful. Makes me want to light some fireworks.

As I began to work through this text, I was thinking through our freedoms in Christ. The freedoms that we have been granted because of Christ’s work, both in His fulfilment of the law and His sacrificial death. As I was thinking through this, it began to dawn on me how dangerous it could be to view our Christian freedoms in the same way we view our American freedoms.

Here’s what I mean. If the government said, “We’re taking your guns”, many of you might say, “I’d like to see you try.” Or if the government said, “your freedom of religion is gone, no more meeting as a church”, we would not neglect to gather as the Lord commanded. Maybe the government says, “No more freedom of speech, stop all that talking about Jesus”, we would keep on sharing and preaching the Gospel. The point is, there are certain freedoms we have been granted that we aren’t easily going to give up, and rightfully so.

Now, if we take that understanding of freedoms and lay it over the freedoms and right, we have been granted in Christ, we might end up in a not so good place. You’ll remember last week Paul said, you are free to eat or to not eat of meat that has been sacrificed to idols. He said that what we eat, or do not eat, does not change our standing before God. It is a right, or a freedom, that we have been given. And yet, Paul says it is a freedom that I will so quickly give up for the sake of my brother. If eating this meat is going to cause my brother or sister to stumble, I will not eat meat. Consider it done. It isn’t a right he is going to fight over, or one that he says, “come and take it”. But he sees is a gift to be enjoyed, while at the same time something that he is willing to lay aside if need be.

In our text this morning, Paul is continuing his argument concerning our freedoms and how we might exercise them. He started in chapter 8 with the specific example of the meat sacrificed to idols, but now you’ll see him take a step back and look at the situation from a higher altitude. He is trying to communicate to the Corinthians how they ought to view their freedoms in light of their greatest purpose of furthering the Gospel. So, this morning I want to draw out 3 things we must do, as followers of Christ, for the sake of the Gospel.

1.) We must learn what freedoms we have in Christ, for the sake of the Gospel.

As those who have been saved by Jesus, and are in Christ, we have been granted all kinds of freedoms, or maybe better called, liberties. We can choose to do or not do all kinds of things. Paul has mentioned all kinds of them. We are free to marry, to not marry. To eat and drink certain things, to not eat or not drink certain things. And this hasn’t always been the case. There was a time, you all know this, that God’s people were subject to the law in a way that demanded a lot more ceremonial and civil law keeping. If you read through your Old Testament, you’ll be overwhelmed by all of it.

When Jesus came, He came to fulfill the law. He came to keep it perfectly, to live a sinless life, to die, to resurrect, and to make us righteous in Him. And so now, we are no longer under the law that we read in the Old Testament, but you could say, the law of Christ. A law that can be summed up in loving God and loving your neighbor. 

And so in this, we have been granted much freedom, or liberties, in Christ. Paul knows this and so he begins this part of the letter by showing that he knows what he is free to do, or not do. If you look at verse 3, we can gather that apparently people have been accusing Paul of something, and he is making a defense against their accusations. What I think is happening is that the Corinthians questions what Paul’s rights, or freedoms, actually are. They are calling into question his authority, what he can or cannot, what he does or does not deserve.

The reason I think this is it, is because Paul starts asking rhetorical question after rhetorical questions. Look with me starting in verse 1. Paul says, “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink?5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?”

There’s a lot going on here, but isn’t it clear that Paul knows what freedoms he has? He knows he is free, that he has authority an apostle, and that the Corinthians ought to recognize that since he started their church and taught them the faith. He knows that he can eat or drink, he can be married if he desires, and so on. He knows all of this with confidence, and he isn’t hesitant to point it out when called into question.

He spends a bit more time responding to a critique about his being paid as a minister of the Gospel. He quotes Deuteronomy 25:4, which says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” The idea of muzzling an ox might be foreign to us, but here is what is mind. Let’s say you borrow a neighbor’s ox to tread grain, and you think, “you know, if I muzzle the ox and it doesn’t eat the grain, then I’ll have more grain in the end. After all, it isn’t my ox, so it’s not my problem if the ox is weak when I return it.” Well, Paul applies this same principal to himself, and more generally to those who proclaim the Gospel. Look down at verses 13 and 14. Paul says, “13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” Paul is saying that those who devote their lives to the ministry of the Word, ought to be able to make their living from it. They should be treated well in their labors and efforts, not forced to find to return home with nothing to show of it. You’ll see it again in verse 6, Paul says, “Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?” 

Paul understands rather clearly what he has the right to do, and he makes it clear to the Corinthians that he knows this. He roots it in his own apostolic authority, which they should recognize as products of his work, and in the Old Testament law itself. 

If you’ll turn with me briefly to Colossians 2:16-23, I think you’ll be able to see the importance of knowing what we have been freed from and freed to in Christ. Starting in verse 16, Paul writes, “16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions,[d] puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

As those who have been saved by Christ, we should learn and understand where we are. We need to know what we are free to do and are not free to do. We don’t need to unnecessarily bind ourselves, or blindly walk into sin. The more confident we are of what we have been granted in Christ, the more confident we can walk in obedience. If we are always hesitant to take a step or to do this or that, then we will find it harder to do the things that God might be calling us to. Paul knew what his freedoms were in Christ, and so should we. 

Paul made sure to know them so that he could walk confidently, but also because he wanted to be ready to forego them when necessary. That is where he goes next in his argument. 

2.) We must be willing to forego our freedoms, for the sake of the Gospel.

So Paul knew his freedoms, his liberties, and yet he is so willing to lay them aside, when necessary, for the sake of the Gospel. And he wants the Corinthians to see that this is the case, to teach them that they themselves need to be willing to do this.

We see this clearly in the second half of verse 12. Paul says, after asking all these rhetorical questions to show that he knows his liberties in Christ, “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” We saw Paul demonstrate this same kind of willingness last week concerning meat sacrificed to idols. He said, “if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat…” It’s as simple as that for Paul. The right to exercise my freedoms does not outweigh my brother or sister fight against sin, and it doesn’t outweigh the Gospel. 

Again, in verse 15, after Paul stating that he clearly has the right to be paid for his proclamation of the Gospel and ministry work, he says, “But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision.” He has the right, but yet he denies the right. Why? Well his reasoning can be seen in verses 15-18, and it can get a bit confusing. Let me try to explain what he is saying here.

There have been millions and millions of preachers of the Gospel throughout history, and not all with the same motive. Some might do it for fame, to make a name for themselves. Some might do it for financial gain. Paul wanted to make it crystal clear why he preached the Gospel. He preached the Gospel because God had commanded him to do so, and he found great joy in sharing this wonderful news. He didn’t want people to see him and question his motive, so he denied the money that was rightly due him, as he proved. And this wasn’t seen at this time as a humble, noble, thing to do. If anything, Paul was less respected because of this. But that didn’t matter to him, because he did not come preaching himself, but Christ.

Look at how he describes his desire to preach the Gospel in this way. He says, in the second half of verse 15, “I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do no preach the gospel! 7 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. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.”

He is saying, I know I can rightly take the money, but you see I am choosing not to. To take the money would be to deprive me of the very thing that I am boasting in, that I preach for nothing but the reward of preaching Christ. That is a compelling message, and he wanted it to be. He was willing to be forced to work, making tents, rather than being paid for preaching, if it meant that the Gospel might go forward with more power. For the sake of the Gospel, Paul was willing to forego his freedoms.

And the question is, for us, are we willing to do the same? Or do we love our liberties too much? It is convicting, and yet at the same time we all should be encouraged to see this picture of a man who really lived his life spent for Christ and for His Gospel.

Look with me down at verses 19-23. This section, particularly verse 22 where it says, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”, has been used in all sorts of different ways to justify ways of “reaching people with the Gospel”. I remember there was a church, not here in Glasgow, that had the motto, “whatever it takes”. And man, did they emphasize the “whatever” part. They did all kinds of things that just did not make sense to me to try and “save some”. The issue, however, is that they got so distracted by being creative and doing whatever it takes, that they seemed to miss what it is they were trying to win people to. Now, I want to be fair and gracious here and say that, I don’t doubt that there are people there who love the Lord and that people have been saved and are growing there. 

I simply point that out to say, that I don’t think this is what Paul has in mind. This isn’t a call to be overly creative and figure out a way to draw people in that might distract from the message. It’s actually to lay aside things, things that might hinder the message being clear.

And that is evident when you understand what Paul has just said about foregoing his right to be paid for his preaching. And now, starting in verse 19, he says, “19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

In other words, I will lay aside whatever of my liberties in Christ, in order to win people to Christ. Do I need to keep the Jewish laws with to win the Jews? I’ll do it. Act as though I am outside the law to those who are outside? No problem. To the weak, I’ll be weak. I’ll give up the meat for my weaker brother. I am a servant to who? To all, so that I might win them. I will become all things, laying aside anything, for the sake of the Gospel.

Because he knows what he is free to do and not do, he knows how far he can go. He knows what he can freely hand over, and what he can’t. He isn’t going to walk into sin for this, and he is not going to get distracted by anything. He is transfixed on obedience to Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel, and he wants nothing of his own accord to hinder those who hear this good news.

Like last week, I don’t know what this looks like for you to apply. This text is not a call to stop doing this and start doing this. It is a call to have a heart that so desires the Gospel to go forth, for people to be saved, and for Christ to be honored, that we would easily forego our freedoms when necessary.

And make no mistake, this takes a certain kind of life. That is what Paul tells the Corinthians next.

3.) We must live our lives with intentionality, for the sake of the Gospel.

There was a lady born in England, in 1902, named Gladys Aylward, and her life’s desire was to take the Gospel to China. She encountered countless roadblocks in her pursuit of making this happen. She was tried to go with a mission company, but failed to pass the examinations necessary due to her lack of schooling. But, she kept on praying and saving money, hoping that an opportunity would arise, and it did. Eventually she heard of an elderly missionary in China, Jeanie Lawson, who needed a younger woman to carry on her work. Gladys wrote to her and was accepted, if she could make it to China.

She didn’t have enough money for a ship, so she knew would have to take the train. She set off, in October of 1903, with her passport, a Bible, train tickets, and just a little money. The train went through war-torn areas, as China and the Soviet Union were fighting. Eventually, after that train ride, a bit of sailing, another train, a bus, and then finally a mule, she made it to her destination.

So there she was, in China, not knowing the language, unfamiliar with the ways of the people, but confident that God had called her there, so she pressed on. She began to learn the language, and her and the lady she joined restored an old Inn, where they welcomed in travelers, fed them and their mules, gave them a place to sleep, and shared Christ with them. These travelers would then hop back on their mules and carry these stories about Jesus with them. 

The stories about her go on and on. She ended being given a job by the government. She was tasked with inspecting girl’s feet to make sure they were not binding them anymore, as tradition had encouraged, but was not considered illegal. So she traveled, inspecting feet, and sharing the Gospel. While she traveled, she began to notice the countless orphans who had no one to care for them. She began to take them in and eventually would flee with 100 children through the mountains to safety when Japan attacked China. 

She was an incredible woman, as you can tell, and there is much more I could tell.  And the reason I tell you her story, is because I think she is an example of what it looks like to live out verses 24-27 from Paul. Hear these verses and think of her story. Paul writes, “24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Not boxing as one beating the air. Not running aimlessly. Not for something perishable. No, we run with intention. We run for the great reward, the imperishable. Living for the sake of the Gospel takes intentionality. We are not going to lazily stumble into it. Runners run to win the prize, and they know this. So what do they do? They train, discipline themselves, exercise self-control, and then they run. 

The same is true for us. We have been called to live for Christ, for the sake of the Gospel, and so we live with intentionality. We learn, we train, we discipline ourselves, and we exercise self-control, so that we might receive the reward. Gladys understood this, Paul understood this, and my hope and prayer is that we would understand this.

Paul ends this section with a reminder, a warning, as well. He says that he does all of this, “lest after preaching to other I myself should be disqualified.” He isn’t saying that he is going to lose his salvation if he does not do everything perfectly. No, he is saying that if look back and see that I have not tried to intentionally live for Christ, then what evidence do I have that I know Him. If I keep on living as if nothing has changed, has something changed? It’s an encouragement to keep look up and press on.

Our lives should be marked by a love for Christ, a love for His church, and a desire to see people come to know Christ. And we labor with intentionality towards this end. For the sake of the Gospel, we run. 

My encouragement to you this morning is to do this very thing; Run to win the prize! God will enable you, sustain you, and keep you. Live your life for the sake of the Gospel, with a love for Him, His people, and for His Good News. Let us imitate Paul from this text, as a man who is imitating our Savior.

As we come to the table this morning, we are going to be proclaiming this beautiful Gospel. It is proclamation and a reminder that we are living for something far greater than the eye can see. We run for the imperishable. We come to the table to proclaim that the Son of God came to Earth as a man, lived a sinless life, was crucified, buried, and 3 days later resurrected. He defeated death. And in Him, we have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. 

https://melissaspoelstra.com/2024/03/gladys-aylward-faithful-and-flawed/

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/73.html