Serving All to Save Some, Parts 1 & 2 - June 26th, 2022
Counsel From Corinth • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:04
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· 17 viewsAn outline of 1 Cor. 9 with focus on vv. 19-23 and the soul-saving business of believers. We can afford to give up our privileges in order to be servants building up the body of Christ.
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Formal Elements / Descriptive Data
Exegetical Outline of Chapter 9:
I. The Source of Paul's Power in Ministry (1 Cor. 9:1-12).
A. Paul's Answer of Proof of His Calling (1 Cor. 9:1-5).
B. Paul's Answer of Provision for His Calling (1 Cor. 9:6-9).
C. Paul's Assurance of God's Promise for His Calling (1 Cor. 9:10-12).
II. His Selfless Pattern of Service (1 Cor. 9:13-23).
A. Self-Denial for God's Glory (1 Cor. 9:13-16).
B. Sweet Submission in Service for the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:17-18).
C. Serving All to Save Some (1 Cor. 9:19-23).
III. Passionate Striving for a Stephanos (i.e., “crown”) (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
A. Saying No to Lusts - for the Prize of the High Calling of God (1 Cor. 9:24-25).
B. Staying on Course - for the Prize of the High Calling of God (1 Cor. 9:26).
C. Self-discipline - for the Prize of the High Calling of God (1 Cor. 9:27).
CIT & Proposition:
1 Corinthians 9
SUBJECT: How does Paul instruct the Corinthian church that a disciplined Christian should serve?
COMPLEMENT: As one who forgoes rights and privileges in the effort to edify the struggling believer and win those outside the faith, as Paul himself did.
EXEGETICAL IDEA: Paul instructs the Corinthian church that a disciplined Christian should serve as one who forgoes rights and privileges in the effort to edify the struggling believer and win those outside the faith, as Paul himself did.
HOMILETICAL IDEA: We can afford to give up our privileges in order to be servants building up the body of Christ.
[Joel C. Gregory, “1 Corinthians,” in The Big Idea Companion for Preaching and Teaching: A Guide from Genesis to Revelation, ed. Matthew D. Kim and Scott M. Gibson (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2021), 484.]
Sub-intro/Context:
Serving All People (9:19–23)
In this paragraph Paul explains his purpose in denying himself remuneration; he feels that doing so benefits the gospel in Corinth. He explains that his desire in denying himself is to help all sorts of people to receive the gospel. He wants to make things conducive to evangelism. It is important to recognize that Paul is not saying it is right or proper to disobey God in order to advance the gospel (see 7:19; 1 John 5:2). He is speaking about areas of freedom, not requirements laid down by God.
9:19 Paul explains that his freedom doesn’t relieve him of the responsibility to love. He has wholeheartedly accepted this and lives his life serving all sorts of people, to win them to Christ.
9:20 Paul explains what the principle of love means when he deals with Jews. He conforms to Jewish practices in order to not be an unnecessary offense to them. Thus he conforms to Jewish practices with Jews in order to advance the gospel among them. He confesses, however, that he is not under obligation to keep the ceremonial observances of the Jewish law (see Col 2:16–17; Heb 10:1, 4).
9:21 Paul explains what the principle of love means when he deals with gentiles. He doesn’t live like a Jew but lives as gentiles do when among gentiles, again, in order to not be an unnecessary offense to them. Thus he conforms to (morally good or neutral) gentile practices when among gentiles in order to win them to Christ. Paul emphasizes that he is not outside God’s law but under “the law of Christ” (i.e., the moral law of God as administered to humanity under Christ; see 7:19; 1 John 5:2). Paul upholds the law of God (Rom 3:31) and undoubtedly agrees with the psalmist—“How I love God’s law!” (Ps 119:97).
9:22 Earlier Paul told the Corinthians to not use their liberty if it meant hurting weak or ignorant believers (8:11–13). Here he says he follows the same practice. Paul conforms his own practices to that of others in neutral matters, not because he is indecisive but because he loves people. He wants to make a smooth path for the Lord to enter their lives, and he does so by removing whatever obstacles he can remove.
9:23 Paul’s main goal in life is to advance the gospel of Christ and the message of grace (Acts 20:24). His policy toward neutral matters, or gray areas, reflects this one, overarching, and driving passion. Paul wants the Corinthians (and all believers) to share this passion and to adopt his worldview; he wants them to practice love for God and others, and he wants them to love souls.
[Douglas Mangum, ed., Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament, Lexham Context Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), 1 Co 9:19–23.]
Statement of Purpose:
Major Objective: Ethical
Specific Objective: I want my hearers to re-enlist themselves to self-sacrificing accommodation and adaptation toward all that some might be saved by the gospel.
Title:
Serving All to Save Some (1 Cor. 9:19-23)
19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
Informal Elements / Rhetorical Data
Opening Illustration: All Things to All Men
The extent to which sheer frivolity and utterly inane amusement have been carried in connection with some places of worship would almost exceed belief.… There can be no doubt that all sorts of entertainments, as nearly as possible approximating to stage-plays, have been carried on in connection with places of worship, and are, at this present time in high favour. Can these things promote holiness, or help in communion with God? Can men come away from such things and plead with God for the salvation of sinners and the sanctification of believers? We loathe to touch the unhallowed subject; it seems so far removed from the walk of faith and the way of heavenly fellowship. In some cases the follies complained of are even beneath the dignity of manhood, and fitter for the region of the imbecile than for thoughtful men. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon
I doubt there has ever been anyone like Sister Paula in the entire history of Christianity. She describes herself as “an open transsexual Christian, preaching the gospel… . Tammy Faye with a 5 o’clock shadow.”2 Sister Paula was born Larry Nielsen, and supposedly became a Christian “in 1950, as a 12-year-old innately effeminate boy.” After Larry became Paula in a sex-change operation a few years ago, a female Pentecostal televangelist friend urged Larry/Paula to start a television ministry. People magazine described Sister Paula as fifty-three years old, six-feet-one-and-a-half-inches tall, “built like a linebacker.”3
Can you imagine anything more incongruous or more profane than a transsexual evangelist? Yet Sister Paula believes she can have a more effective ministry to people in our generation than the typical “straight” Christian using nothing but the gospel. Sister Paula’s ministry philosophy is fundamentally the same strategy the church marketing experts advocate, though thankfully, none of them would want to see it taken to such an extreme.
The notion that the church must become like the world to win the world has taken evangelicalism by storm. Virtually every modern worldly attraction has a “Christian” counterpart. We have Christian motorcycle gangs, Christian bodybuilding teams, Christian dance clubs, Christian amusement parks, and I even read about a Christian nudist colony.
Where did Christians ever get the idea we could win the world by imitating it? Is there a shred of biblical justification for that kind of thinking? Many church marketing specialists affirm that there is, and they have convinced a myriad of pastors. Ironically, they usually cite the apostle Paul as someone who advocated adapting the gospel to the tastes of the audience. One has written, “Paul provided what I feel is perhaps the single most insightful perspective on marketing communications, the principle we call contextualization (1 Corinthians 9:19–23). Paul … was willing to shape his communications according to their needs in order to receive the response he sought.”4 “The first marketeer was Paul,” another echoes.5
After all, the apostle did write,
“22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.”
Is that a mandate for pragmatism in ministry? Was the apostle Paul suggesting that the gospel message can be made to appeal to people by accommodating their relish for certain amusements or by pampering their pet vices? How far do you suppose he would have been willing to go with the principle of “contextualization”?
The Great Non-Negotiable
This much is very clear: the apostle Paul was no people-pleaser. He wrote,
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Paul did not amend or abridge his message to make people happy. He was utterly unwilling to try to remove the offense from the gospel (Gal. 5:11).
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
He did not use methodology that catered to the lusts of his listeners. He certainly did not follow the pragmatic philosophy of modern market-driven ministers.
What made Paul effective was not marketing savvy, but a stubborn devotion to the truth. He was Christ’s ambassador, not His press secretary. Truth was something to be declared, not negotiated. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16).
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
He willingly suffered for the truth’s sake (2 Cor. 11:23–28).
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
He did not back down in the face of opposition or rejection. He did not compromise with unbelievers or make friends with the enemies of God.
Paul’s message was always non-negotiable. In the same chapter where he spoke of becoming all things to all men, Paul wrote,
16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
His ministry was in response to a divine mandate. God had called him and commissioned him. Paul preached the gospel exactly as he had received it directly from the Lord, and he always delivered that message,
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
He was not a salesman or marketer, but a divine emissary. He certainly was not “willing to shape his communications” to accommodate his listeners or produce a desirable response. The fact that he was stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19), beaten, imprisoned, and finally killed for the truth’s sake ought to demonstrate that he didn’t adapt the message to make it pleasing to his hearers! And the personal suffering he bore because of his ministry did not indicate that something was wrong with his approach, but that everything had been right!
So what did Paul mean when he wrote, “I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel”? As always, the context makes his meaning clear.
[(2) People (16 March 1992), 68. (3) Ibid. (4) George Barna, Marketing the Church (Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1988), 33. (5) Cited in Mike McIntyre, “Marketing the Maker,” The San Diego Union (6 November 1988), D8.]
[John F. MacArthur Jr., Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes like the World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 89–92.]
I. Paul’s One Main Objective: To “Gain” as Many as Possible (1 Cor. 9:19-21).
I. Paul’s One Main Objective: To “Gain” as Many as Possible (1 Cor. 9:19-21).
19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
A. What His Objective Was NOT: To Amuse, To Educate, To Moralize
A. What His Objective Was NOT: To Amuse, To Educate, To Moralize
I fear there are some who preach with the view of amusing men; and as long as people can be gathered in crowds, and their ears can be tickled, and they can retire pleased with what they have heard, the orator is content, and folds his hands and goes back self-satisfied. But Paul did not lay himself out to please the public, and collect the crowd . . . Unless the truth had pierced their hearts, affected their lives, and made new men of them, Paul would have gone home crying, “Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
[C. H. Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour (New York; Chicago; Toronto: Fleming H. Revell, 1895), 251.]
Note - God’s Way Is the Best Way
God’s Blessings Are Found in “The Way”
“I being in the way” [explained
Eliezer], “the Lord led me.”
(Genesis 24:27)
The circumstances were these: When Abraham was old and well stricken in age he called to him his faithful servant Eliezer and commissioned him to go on a long journey into Mesopotamia to procure a wife for Isaac, Abraham’s well-beloved son. This was in the far-seeing plan of God and required a man of real faith and consecration to carry it out. The man must have unusual wisdom that he might be led to the right place and fix on the right girl. It looked like a difficult and complicated task, too much indeed for any man to accomplish, but Eliezer came through victoriously. He simply obeyed and God did the rest. He took the appointed way and the Lord led him. It was as simple as that.
Three hundred years later God said to Israel, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared” (Exodus 23:20). Throughout the Old Testament and on into the New a way is set before men, and over that way the angel of the Lord hovers day and night, guarding and blessing all who faithfully walk in it. They have only to stay in the ordained path to assure the continued fellowship of God.
God’s blessing follows the “way” as green vegetation the river. God never varies from the way; He never compromises nor approves a detour. There is just one way, no more, and our present success and future happiness depend upon our finding and following that way.
In the Scriptures the Lord is pictured as a Shepherd walking before His sheep, leading them through the dangerous wilderness of this world. Yet in Isaiah 30:21 it is written, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.”
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,
This is the way, walk ye in it,
When ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Why does the voice of the Lord sound from behind us instead of coming as usual from before? The rest of the verse makes it clear, “when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Whenever we turn our backs on the way, the voice comes from behind us. The Lord never leaves the way. Always His voice sounds in the way and if we wander from it we can only hear a voice behind us, never in front.
The story of the rich young ruler illustrates this further. As Christ watched the young ruler walk away from Him He could speak only from behind him. And as the distance between the two increased, so much more faintly sounded the voice of Jesus in the young man’s ears. That was and could be only tragedy for the erring man. Christ calls men to Him. He never leaves the true way to go to them.
Most of the troubles of Christians result from their leaving the way of the Lord to walk in paths of their own choosing. This is justified on the grounds that it is merely an adaptation to the times, a wise adjustment to the changing tastes of modern men. Paul’s words, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22), are lifted out of context and used to give apostolic authority to a bewildering variety of religious frivolities of which prophet or apostle never dreamed. Christians find themselves on unscriptural bypaths far from the plain way of the cross and, assuming they are on the right way, they pray day and night for God to lead them and bless their journey. But their prayers are worse than wasted. By leaving the way of the Lord they cut themselves off from divine assistance. No amount of frantic pleading can save them from disaster.
We can save ourselves a lot of desperate praying for help that never comes if we will but obey the plain teachings of the Scriptures and walk in the way they point out for us. We congratulate ourselves these days that we are more “enlightened” than were those rugged old men of Bible times, but I think we can learn a lot from the man who, more than 3,500 years ago, testified, “I being in the way,… the Lord led me.”
[A. W. Tozer, The Price of Neglect (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread, 1991), 134–137.]
B. What His Objective Was: To “Gain” or to “Save”
B. What His Objective Was: To “Gain” or to “Save”
1. Gain: To Convince both Jew & Gentile Alike of the Full Sufficiency of Christ for All Things
1. Gain: To Convince both Jew & Gentile Alike of the Full Sufficiency of Christ for All Things
To the Jews he became as a Jew, that he might win Jews. This cannot mean that he put himself back under the Law of Moses in order to see Jews saved. What [this means] might be illustrated in the action which Paul took in connection with the circumcision of Timothy and Titus. In the case of Titus, there were those who insisted that unless he was circumcised, he couldn’t be saved. Realizing that this was a frontal attack on the gospel of the grace of God, Paul stoutly refused to have Titus circumcised.
3 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
However, in the case of Timothy it seems that no such issue was involved. Therefore, the apostle was willing that Timothy should be circumcised if this would result in a wider hearing of the gospel . . . .
1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. 4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. 5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Under law the motive was fear, but under grace the motive is love. Love is a far higher motive than fear. Men will do out of love what they would never do from terror.
Arnot says:
God’s method of binding souls to obedience is similar to His method of keeping the planets in their orbits—that is, by flinging them out free. You see no chain keeping back these shining worlds to prevent them from bursting away from their center. They are held in the grip of an invisible principle.… And it is by the invisible bond of love—love to the Lord who bought them—that ransomed men are constrained to live soberly and righteously and godly. . . . [W. Arnot]
As a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus, the Apostle Paul was not under the law as a rule of life. He merely adapted himself to the customs, habits, and prejudices of the people in order that he might win them to the Lord.
9:21 Ryrie writes:
Paul is not demonstrating two-facedness or multi-facedness, but rather he is testifying of a constant, restrictive self-discipline in order to be able to serve all sorts of men. Just as a narrowly channeled stream is more powerful than an unbounded marshy swamp, so restricted liberty results in more powerful testimony for Christ. [C. Ryrie]
[30 William Arnot, The Church in the House, pp. 467, 468.] [31 Charles C. Ryrie, The Grace of God, p. 83.] [William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1777–1778.]
2. Save: To Be Regenerated (“Born Again”/”New Creature”); To Be Pardoned (cleansed from sin through Christ’s atonement); To Be Purified (made holy)
2. Save: To Be Regenerated (“Born Again”/”New Creature”); To Be Pardoned (cleansed from sin through Christ’s atonement); To Be Purified (made holy)
Note - AV’s distinction is helpful - “Gain” (5x’s); “Save” (1x)
Transition: Paul’s One Main Objective: To Gain as Many as Possible, now . . .
II. Paul’s Multi-Faceted Method of Meeting His Objective: To Be a “Servant of All” So As By All Means to “Save Some” (1 Cor. 9:22).
II. Paul’s Multi-Faceted Method of Meeting His Objective: To Be a “Servant of All” So As By All Means to “Save Some” (1 Cor. 9:22).
22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
[v. 19 - Paul’s] statement is in three parts.
First is the condition of Paul, (literally) “being free from all.” . . .
Second is the decision he made: (literally) “I enslaved myself to all” (cf. 2 Cor. 4:5). . . Paul made a voluntary decision to serve others instead of exercising his rights.
Third is Paul’s reason, “in order that I may gain the more”: “for the sake of winning to Christ as many of them as possible” (Orr-Walther 243).
[Robert E. Picirilli, 1, 2 Corinthians, ed. Robert E. Picirilli, First Edition., The Randall House Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Randall House Publications, 1987), 130.]
A. Preaching of the Cross - The Gospel - The “Foolishness of Preaching”
A. Preaching of the Cross - The Gospel - The “Foolishness of Preaching”
“Contextualization” and the Corruption of the Church
It should be clear that modern church marketers cannot look to the apostle Paul for approval of their methodology or claim him as the father of their philosophy. Although Paul ministered to the vilest pagans throughout the Roman world, he never adapted the church to secular society’s tastes. He would not think of altering either the message or the nature of the church. Each of the churches he founded had its own unique personality and set of problems, but Paul’s teaching, his strategy, and above all his message remained the same throughout his ministry. His means of ministry . . . was always preaching—the straightforward proclamation of biblical truth.
By contrast, the “contextualization” of the gospel today has infected the church with the spirit of the age. It has opened the church’s doors wide for worldliness, shallowness, and in some cases a crass, party atmosphere. The world now sets the agenda for the church.
This is demonstrated clearly in a book by James Davison Hunter, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia. Hunter surveyed students in evangelical colleges and seminaries, and concluded that evangelical Christianity has changed dramatically in the past three decades. . . [He] wrote,
The symbolic boundaries which previously defined moral propriety for conservative Protestantism have lost a measure of clarity. Many of the distinctions separating Christian conduct from “worldly conduct” have been challenged if not altogether undermined. Even the words worldly and worldliness have, within a generation, lost most of their traditional meaning.… The traditional meaning of worldliness has indeed lost its relevance for the coming generation of Evangelicals.7
What Hunter noted among evangelical students is a reflection of what has happened to the entire evangelical [western world]. Many professing Christians appear to care far more about the world’s opinion than about God’s. Churches are so engrossed in trying to please non-Christians that many have forgotten their first duty is to please God (2 Cor. 5:9).
9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
The church has been so over-contextualized that it has become corrupted by the world.
By All Means Save Some
Paul’s one aim in making himself the slave of all was so that they might be saved. He was not trying to win a popularity contest. He was not seeking to make himself or the gospel appealing to them. His whole purpose was evangelistic. . . . [Not so with so many of] today’s pragmatic church-growth strategies. The design is to attract the unchurched. For what? To entertain them? To get them to attend church meetings regularly? Merely “churching” the unchurched accomplishes nothing of eternal value . . . The church has thus been invaded with the world’s values, the world’s interests, and the world’s citizens. By all means we are to seek the salvation of the lost. We must be servants to all, deferential to every kind of person. For Jews we should become Jewish; for Gentiles we should be like Gentiles; for children we should be childlike; and so on for every facet of humanity. But the primary means of evangelism we dare not overlook: the straightforward, Christ-centered proclamation of the unadulterated Word of God. Those who trade the Word for amusements or gimmicks will find they have no effective means to reach people with the truth of Christ.
[7 Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987), 63.]
[John F. MacArthur Jr., Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes like the World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 101–104.]
B. Prayer - Preaching Truth Mixed with Prayer & Supplication
B. Prayer - Preaching Truth Mixed with Prayer & Supplication
“There is a trend today that would put a new robe on the prodigal son while he is still feeding hogs. Some would put the ring on his finger while he is still in the pigsty. Others would paint the pigsty and advocate bigger and better hog pens.” ~ Author unknown
[Mark Water, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd, 2000), 314.]
Note - Implied in the parable is the answered prayers of the ever-watching father when the prodigal finally “came to himself.”
C. Patience - Self-Denial & Sacrifice - Trials & Persecution Not Dissuading
C. Patience - Self-Denial & Sacrifice - Trials & Persecution Not Dissuading
Whatever It Takes
“And this I do for the gospel’s sake…”1 Corinthians 9:23
WHEN PAUL DETERMINED that he was not preaching for money, he became a free man. The preacher who has no cash considerations going into his message can preach a lot of things others cannot and will not preach. No one owns him. He owes nobody. He can say, “I (am) free from all men” (1 Corinthians 9:19).
So Mr. Paul, now that you have this great freedom, what are you going to do with it? The answer is amazing: “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.”
Imagine a slave working an entire life to gain his freedom turning around and relinquishing that freedom. Imagine a nation going to war for its independence, winning the war, then resubmitting itself to the former king. Paul had his freedom, his “liberty,” yet he threw it all away, enslaving himself to others by enslaving himself to Christ. He did not want to be served; he wanted to serve.
No one in the cosmopolitan city of Corinth was exempt from his compassion. He loved the Jews, settling the Galatian’s argument that he would go to the Gentiles while James, Peter, and John would handle the Jews. He loved those who were “under the law,” the Jews who followed harsh, human regulations. He loved the Gentiles who were “without the law,” doing everything he could without compromising his testimony for Christ.
He loved the “weak,” the humble poor of Corinth. He was willing to dress in their lowly clothes, eat their simple meals, and ignore their living conditions for the “gospel’s sake.” Whatever the church of Corinth was doing to reach their city, Paul wanted to be a “partaker” of the efforts. He did not expect sinners to come to him, he went to them. He was the original ‘bring them in’ man.
Irrespective of the social class, Paul had one goal for every citizen of Corinth. He wanted to “gain” them. It is somewhat amusing when the phrase ‘soul-winning’ is criticized. The modern day specialists that run to Madison Avenue for the latest techniques in church growth are highly offended by any type of confrontational efforts. “After all,” they say, “the phrase soul winning is not even found in the New Testament!”
Well, the phrase soul-gaining is certainly a New Testament phrase. It is found five times in four verses, and is defined by one Greek expert as meaning “to gain, acquire as gain, to win.”16
Paul was the consummate soul-gainer. More than claiming to love people, Paul demonstrated his compassion by paying a tremendous price for his people. That price is described in 2 Corinthians 11:24: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.”
Those beatings came with a trial, with Paul standing in a Jewish courtroom facing the charges of blasphemy. His faith in the risen Christ and his conviction that the Gospel was to the Jew first and then to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16) made the trial an open and shut case. It would not take long for the Jewish court to convict Paul, and the cry of “Guilty!” to fill the room. The Mishnah (the Jewish oral law) listed 36 sins that warranted excommunication from the Jewish community. One of those sins was blasphemy, a crime which carried the penalty that the guilty party could have no more contact with any Jew.
But there was a caveat, the ‘fine print’ of the Jewish law. An expelled man conceivably had the option of submitting to thirty-nine brutal lashes, a horrible flogging. It was described as such:
Floggings were administered with a whip made of calfskin on the bare upper body of the offender - one third of the lashes being given on the breast and the other two thirds on the back. The offender stood in a bowed position with the one administering the beating on a stone above him and the blows were accompanied by the recital of admonitory and consolatory verses from Scripture. [ISBE]
Should a condemned man agree to such a beating, the law then required the Jewish community to accept him again as ‘thy brother.’ By surrendering to will of the court, and accepting their whipping, Paul could remain in contact with his brethren. He could witness to one more. He could lead a sinner to the Cross. All it would take was a beating that would permanently scar him, and he could go soul-gaining again.
“Paul, you have been found guilty. The law presents you with two choices. You may accept banishment, and you will have no more contact with Jews. They will be required to shun and ignore you. Or, should you prefer, you may accept a flogging of 39 stripes. Which do you choose?”
Paul chose the beating.
Five times.
[Paul Schwanke, I Come Preaching, The Preacher and His Preaching from 1 Corinthians (Evangelist Paul Schwanke (www.preachthebible.com), 2013), 1 Co 9:19–23.]
D. Building Personal Relationships - Adaptability without Compromising Doctrine
D. Building Personal Relationships - Adaptability without Compromising Doctrine
His adaptability for the gospel
Paul’s positive procedure is voluntarily to submit to slavery in serving others for the sake of winning to Christ as many of them as possible. This consists in accommodating his practice to that of the people to whom he is preaching. It is a breathtaking relativizing of national and legal values to the absolute value of the gospel. Paul was ready to renounce citizenship, legal attachments, customs. This did not take the form of flaunting his independence, however, by obstreperous nonconformity; but it took the opposite form of changing his conformity according to the people with whom he was dealing. Paul is no ordinary turncoat who adjusts his habits for the sake of his own gain: Paul’s policy is determined by the fact that he is under the compulsion of God and has a message that must be directed to people of all nationalities, customs, and characteristics. A believer in this gospel does not belong particularly to any group but can belong to all; so that he is at home wherever he is and at the same time is a stranger even when he is at home. Paul’s overriding allegiance is as a partner with the gospel.
[William F. Orr and James Arthur Walther, I Corinthians: A New Translation, Introduction, with a Study of the Life of Paul, Notes, and Commentary, vol. 32, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1976), 243.]
He did not parade his liberty before the Jews, nor did he impose the Law on the Gentiles. [Wiersbe] Was Paul behaving in an inconsistent manner? Of course not. He simply adapted his approach to different groups. When you read his sermons in the Book of Acts, you see this wise adaptation. When he preached to Jews, he started with the Old Testament patriarchs; but when he preached to Gentiles, he began with the God of Creation. Paul did not have a “stock sermon” for all occasions. It is worth noting that our Lord followed the same approach. To the highborn Jew, Nicodemus, He talked about spiritual birth (John 3); but to the Samaritan woman, He spoke about living water (John 4). Jesus was flexible and adaptable, and Paul followed His example.
[Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 601.]
Please do not misunderstand this. Paul was in no way saying that he altered his message or his morals. He did not become partaker of their evil deeds. He always submitted himself to the highest law, the law of Christ. Paul is saying that he made every possible effort to reach the lost. David Brainerd who labored to win Indians up and down the banks of the Susquehanna river said,
I care not where I live, or what hardships I go through, so that I can but gain souls to Christ. While I am asleep, I dream of these things; as soon as I awake, the first thing I think of is this great work. All my desire is the conversion of sinners, and all my hope is in God. [David Brainerd]
In 1904, King Edward VII invited William Booth him to Buckingham Palace. When the king asked Booth to write in his autograph album, that old Spirit-filled man of God—now way up in years, took the pen, and summed up his life’s work this way:
Your Majesty,
Some men’s ambition is art,
Some men’s ambition is fame,
Some men’s ambition is gold,
My ambition is the souls of men.
The greatest gain that can come from a Christian’s life comes when he uses his rights and liberty for others, rather than for his own advantage. Some has said, Christian liberty is a prized possession, yet its glory lies in the fact that it is made subject to love.
[Glen Spencer Jr., 1 Corinthians: Divine Help for a Divided Church, Expository Pulpit Series (Wordsearch, 2018), 233–234.]
Paul never compromised the doctrines of Scripture, never changed God’s Word in order to make it more palatable to people in any given place. He never went against God’s law or his own conscience. In matters that did not violate any principle of God’s Word, however, Paul was willing to become like his audience in order to win them to Christ. . . .
STRATEGY
First Corinthians 9 reveals several basic principles for effective ministry: find common ground with others; avoid a know-it-all attitude; make others feel accepted; be sensitive to others’ needs and concerns; and look for opportunities to tell about Christ. These principles are just as valid today as they were then. Which of these were used by those who brought you to Christ? Which ones need more conscious attention in your own efforts to introduce your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to Christ?
[Bruce B. Barton and Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1999), 128–130.]
Transition: 1. Paul’s One Main Objective: To Gain as Many as Possible; 2. Paul’s Multi-Faceted Method: Servant of All to Save Some, now . . .
III. Paul’s Driving Motivation to Reach His Goal: To “Be Partaker” of the Gospel for Its Own Sake (1 Cor. 9:23).
III. Paul’s Driving Motivation to Reach His Goal: To “Be Partaker” of the Gospel for Its Own Sake (1 Cor. 9:23).
A. Reasons to “Be Partaker”:
A. Reasons to “Be Partaker”:
1. To Fail Is to Dishonor God
1. To Fail Is to Dishonor God
It was in 1873, in Dublin, that D. L. Moody heard British evangelist Henry Varley utter those life changing words: “The world has yet to see what God can do with, for, through, and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.” It was after an all-night prayer meeting in Dublin, at the home of Henry Bewley. Varley did not even remember making the statement when Moody reminded him of it a year later.
“As I crossed the wide Atlantic,” Moody said, “the boards of the deck.… were engraved with them, and when I reached Chicago, the very paving stones seemed marked with them.” The result: Moody decided he was involved in too many ministries to be effective and therefore began to concentrate on evangelism. The statement by Henry Varley branded the heart of Moody who was determined to be sold-out totally for Christ.
When Henry Crowell was nine, his father died from tuberculosis, and when he was seventeen, Henry himself contracted the disease. He appeared to be dying as he attended D.L. Moody’s campaign in Cleveland, Ohio. He listened carefully as Moody thundered out a common phrase: “The world has yet to see what God can do through a man fully dedicated to him.” What Moody had learned and lived, he was passing on to others.
When Henry Crowell heard Moody’s challenge, he determined to be God’s man, too. He said, “To be sure, I would never preach like Moody, but I could make money and support the labors of men like Moody. I resolved, “Oh God, if you preserve my life and allow me to make money to be used in your service, I will keep my name out of it so you will have the glory.”
Henry grew stronger and began honing his business instincts, shrewdly investing his family’s wealth. He started companies, purchased properties, and introduced innovations to the marketplace. When a mill owned by nearby Quakers became available, Henry purchased it and began dreaming of modern cereal products for American homes. Thus, the Quaker Oats Company was born.
The money rolled in and it rolled out with 65–70% of the income going into Christian ministries that would reach people for Christ and disciple them. Millions of dollars flowed to churches, schools, and missions. Henry worked tirelessly for the new Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Under his vision, Moody Bible escaped financial ruin and became a powerful training center. Henry also helped to start Moody Press, Moody Magazine, and Moody radio ministries.
At the age of 89 he was still dreaming before he went home to be with his Lord. Henry did not let Satan degenerate his determination and his dedication. He too, was a man that was sold out to the Lord.
[Rod Mattoon, Treasures from First Corinthians, vol. 2, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2012), 24–25.]
2. The Misery of the Human Race (e.g., Drugs & Alcohol)
2. The Misery of the Human Race (e.g., Drugs & Alcohol)
3. The Looming Wrath of God’s Coming Judgment on the Impenitent (i.e., “Multitudes in the valley of decision”)
3. The Looming Wrath of God’s Coming Judgment on the Impenitent (i.e., “Multitudes in the valley of decision”)
Do We Really Believe the Wrath of God Is Coming?
A question that presses itself on me here is this: is one of the reasons that we make as little effort as we do in winning others the fact that we don’t believe the wrath of God is coming? For many today the good news of Jesus Christ is conceived almost entirely as another strategy to handle psychological needs—depression, grief, abandonment, loneliness, anger, low self-esteem, fear, etc. And the gospel does have an impact on all those things. But that is not what makes it the gospel. If the gospel did not touch any of those things in this life (which is conceivable), it would still be unspeakably good news. Do you believe that?
What makes the gospel good news is that I am already acquitted in the courtroom of heaven. There is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. The sentence of infinite, holy wrath has been revoked in my case. Jesus absorbed it for me. Therefore, as 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says,
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
But O what a difference there is for those who do not embrace the gospel! Romans 2:5 says,
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
I wonder if we believe this. Very little in our culture helps us believe this. It is a massive worldview change from what most people think. There is coming a day of wrath and righteous judgment of God. Everyone, Paul says, will give an account of himself to God (Romans 14:12).
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
And there are only two verdicts and two sentences: guilty or not guilty; and eternal life or eternal wrath and punishment (Matthew 25:46).
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
If this is a minor part of your thought world, if you don’t think about this very much, then it will be hard for you to feel the sense of sorrow and urgency that Paul felt for the lost people around him. What we need to do is ponder the wrath of God that is coming—to meditate, think about, reflect on, mull over, turn over in our minds, and dwell on—the reality of the wrath of God. Until this figures as largely in our worldview as it did for Paul, we will not have the passion for evangelism that he had.
[John Piper, Sermons from John Piper (1990–1999) (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2007).]
4. The Promise of the Coming Resurrection to Eternal Life for the Believer
4. The Promise of the Coming Resurrection to Eternal Life for the Believer
B. What It Means to “Be Partaker With”
B. What It Means to “Be Partaker With”
Note - To participate in the life of Jesus, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
The moment we meet Jesus our troubles will be forgotten, and we shall look back and feel ashamed that we have ever murmured or complained here below.
Oft times the days seem drear,
Our trials hard to bear,
We’re tempted to complain,
To murmur and despair.
But Christ will soon appear,
To catch His Bride away,
All sorrow will be ended,
In God’s eternal day.
It will be worth it all,
When we see Jesus.
Life’s trials seem so small,
When we see Christ.
One glimpse of His dear face,
All sorrow will erase.
Then bravely run the race,
Till we see Christ.
—Esther Kerr Rusthoi
[M. R. De Haan, Studies in First Corinthians (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 112.]
When it comes to soulwinning: What is YOUR all-consuming objective? How will you plan to reach it? by what METHOD? and WHY should you even try? For Whom do you work and serve?
You will find no greater example than this as Paul said, “Follow me, as I follow Christ.” Servant of All, That I Might By All Means Save Some.