Revering the Word
1 Cor. 9 Receiving a living from the Gospel and the importance of discipline.
Good morning everyone. This morning we're in 1 Corinthians 9. Let's begin. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Let's stop there for a moment and recall where we are. We are with the Apostle Paul who is writing to a church in Corinth that he spent a lot of time with. And Paul was an apostle that wasn't an apostle like the original 12 who were following Jesus along his ministry for three years while Jesus did his ministry. Typically an apostle was someone who was in the direct presence of Jesus who was designated one of his apostles. Paul was actually against Christianity and came along later, but he did have a personal encounter by Jesus, where Jesus said Saul saw that was his name at the time why are you persecuting me. And Paul at that time knew, oh my goodness, what I've been doing to persecute the Christian church is wrong. And he ends up getting called by Jesus into full-time ministry and travels as a missionary and goes and plants various churches all around the region and known world really of that time and then ends up writing many letters to churches he visited and some he was hoping to visit one day and did like Rome. Really Paul is an incredible man. Really one of the lead missionaries of all time. And you know he came around not long after Jesus died and ascended into heaven and began his ministry. So he was an apostle because of the fact that he did have that direct speaking to from Jesus He even talks about another time where he was in a sense caught up to the third heaven where was instructed by Jesus you can read about that I believe in the book of Galatians if I recall that correctly. Anyways, he's having to defend himself. You know this church in Corinth you know it had its challenges and and you know they were questioning it appears and he's letting them know listen I am an apostle and I have a right to be designated as an apostle and then he says, are you not my work in the Lord I mean you guys have seen me first hand he spent a year and a half there. If to others I am not an apostle at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship and the Lord and he's basically saying hey the ministry that I've done in your city and all the things that have happened in Corinth reveal that I'm an apostle. My defense to those who examine me is this, do we not have a right to eat and drink. Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and sephus. So that's interesting inserted into here is that you know the apostle Paul saying he has a right to take a believing wife just as Peter does and the brothers of the Lord. And you know we have the Catholic church today that sadly has made up their own rules and said that a priest in that church can't take a wife and you know the Bible says that if you have desire for sexual intimacy then you should get married. And unfortunately some of these men who are priests are instructed by their church mandated not to be married and unfortunately their sexual desires come out and you know inappropriate and perverted ways with each other and with young children. Sadly, so it's not it's not good for a church to set up rules that aren't according to the word of God and they have many in the Catholic church that they do things by their own tradition. Instead of by the word of God and when you do that you get in trouble. And that's what's happened there. And Paul is making the case that he has a right to take a believing wife, by the way of believing wife I mean it is good and right to be equally yoked in your marriage. Sometimes we we've talked about this even in this book sometimes we may have gotten married. Before we knew better and we are unequally built what you're supposed to stay married. You know the unbeliever may leave and they are allowed to leave them if they're an unbeliever but as much as you can make your marriages work to honor the Lord that's what we should do. But if you can do it right the first time and marry a believing husband or a believing wife, that is definitely the thing to do. When he says here do we not have a right to eat and drink. He's beginning to get into finances and the giving of the church and Corinth to him so that he can be devoted to ministry and he's you'll see that as we go through but basically saying hey listen, you know I've been serving your church. When I have a right to eat and drink like anybody else I've got to be able to pay for food and beverage just like anybody else and I am an apostle and I have served your church and he's saying I do have a right to receive income for serving you. So let's keep going. Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working. So, you know, he did work Paul, many times was bivocational and would receive money from the people he was administering to but also made tense. But he's saying he definitely has the right to get paid for the ministries he's doing and he's going to talk about that at length here. Who at any time serves for seven as a soldier at his own expense you know and now as in then if you're a soldier you get paid to be a soldier who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it. I mean if you have a vineyard you either either partake of personally or you obviously sell your grapes and receive revenue for the sale of those you don't do it just to do it and not either eat of it or sell it. Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock. He's making all these arguments and cases to basically say he has a right to receive a gift from them in order to serve as a minister. Verse eight I am not speaking these things according to human judgment am I. Or does not the law also say these things and now he's going to say hey even your Old Testament scriptures echoed this right. You know the Levites you know in the Old Testament were provided for by the people to serve at the tabernacle but here's what it says verse nine four does written in the law of Moses you shall not muzzle the ox while he is stretching mean like let the ox should be able to eat when he's working to you know help produce or bring in crops. And then Paul Paul says God is not concerned about oxen is he's like listen that's not that's not about oxen he's saying that's about God's people serving as ministers just as the ox needs to be able to eat while he's rushing a minister needs to get paid while he's ministering. Or is he speaking all together for our sake yes for our sake it was written because the plow man ought to plow in hope that the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops so he's making that you know same argument from agriculture that you plan to build in order to eat or sell the crops and receive the revenue and the same thing for someone ministering if we sold spiritual things in you. Is it too much if we reap material things from you. If others share the right over you do we not more meaning you know they are they apparently were paying other people to come in and preach and teach and he's like well if you're going to pay others you know why wouldn't you pay us. Or what he's going to say here as we get into verse 12 is that he a lot of time refrained from his right of being paid or what I think is likely is that he didn't require he didn't like say oh well in order for me to come or for me to preach and pay me first or agree to pay me a certain stipend he was he was desiring their generosity towards him. And saying he has a right to that generosity but he didn't want to require to be paid because as we'll see he feels as though he's called by God to do it and needs to do it but yet he feels when he's doing it. He should provide so nevertheless we did not use this right but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple. He's talking about the Levites and priests and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar. A lot of times the priest would eat the food of you know the sacrifices and stuff. So also the Lord directed that those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. Well there it is really, you know kind of sums up the whole point is you know those who serve God faithfully in preaching his word have a right to get a living from what they're doing now. And sometimes if the money wasn't there Paul was you know being bivocational and you know not everyone who has a desire to be in ministry there's everyone's not going to get paid and sometimes you're going to do it for less or for little. You'll call to do it, but you know it's good and right for churches and people to be generous so that people can devote their lives to helping others grow in their faith. And this is really what this is about but I have used none of these things. I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. And it's kind of a little bit confusing he's gone through with all these verses talking about his right to get paid. But then he's like I'm not requiring it. And when I'm getting from that is again that he did not come in and say hey listen you know before I do anything or you better pay me the right amount. He's not making that an obligation because he doesn't want them to get the wrong idea that he's only doing it for the money. For if I preach the gospel verse 60 and I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion he's saying this is something God's called me to for whoa is me if I do not preach the gospel. And good for him and what a great verse that is, you know paid or not he feels like that's his calling to preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily voluntarily I have a reward, but if against my will I have a stewardship entrusted to me. He's like you know there's going to be a reward in heaven and you know he he knows he's obligated Paul feels that sense of desire and obligation to honor God and preach his word. But when I preach the gospel I may offer the gospel without charge, so it's not to make full use of my right in the gospel. So he's basically saying I could do it for charge and maybe set a set an amount, but I'm just going to do it and be faithful to God because God's called me to. I believe what he's indicated is I'm just trusting people's generosity but I'm not requiring it. For though I am free from all men I have made myself a slave to all so that I may win more. And Paul was very focused on making sure everyone got the gospel. It's kind of an interesting set of verses coming up here verse 20 to the Jews I became as a Jew so that I might win Jews. To those who are under the law as under the law, though not being myself under the law, so that I might win those who are under the law. To those who are without the law as without the law, though not being without the law of God, but under the law of Christ so that I may win those who are without the law. To the week I become weak that I might win the week I have become all things to all men so that I may be all means save some now. You could, we could interpret this I think too far or incorrectly, but I think what what Paul is saying is that, you know, in the audience that he's in, he's going to try to be respectful to that audience. In order to win the audience, that does not mean that the gospel is going to change it does not mean that he's going to lie deceive, not stick to honoring the word of God or the gospel. But when he's with certain people, the message might be shaped differently in order to preach the gospel effectively to that group of people. So I think you can go too far with that and Paul that's talked about, you know, in the scriptures a little bit, you know, like, you know, Peter at one time was identifying too much with the Jews and cooperating with the law so much. When, when the Jews were around he distanced himself this is Peter from the Gentiles and that was a problem and Paul held Peter accountable and said listen, what you're doing is making it seem like then the Gentiles have to follow the law. And that's not good. So you can go too far in this area too and identifying with a particular audience you can't do it so much so that you are not honoring the word of God. But yes, when you're in specific audiences, you're going to craft, you know, who you are and what you say a little bit differently to help identify with them, but while also sticking to the truth so I'm not a challenging thing but that's what he's saying here verse 23, I do all things for the sake of the gospel so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. And, you know, he, he does what he does, and he knows he's receiving the good news for himself as well. And this is really interesting I love these next three verses to be a little historical here. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run but only one receives the prize run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self control and all things. And then do it to receive a perishable wreath but we, an imperishable one though. I want to stop for a moment and it's really quite an incredible thing that even in this day and in Jesus's day there were the Olympics all the way back then isn't that amazing. And not only were there the Olympics but there appears to be other games like the ismian games and other games that took place maybe every year with the Olympics kind of like it is today being the grand. Games and that was held once every four years. But even in Corinth there was the ismian games and it was similar to the Olympics maybe just not like, you know, we have world championships in our world that sometimes will take place maybe every year every other year. And they're they're looked at as a big deal but not as a big deal as the Olympics so it may have been like that. But the point is is that they were very familiar with athletics and the kind of training that people would go into in order to try to win the games. And he's comparing that to us as Christians that you know if you're running this race of faith let's do it in such a way that we would win let's do it in such a way that we we are honorable as the ones who try to compete in the Olympic and in that time they have to they have to really honor their bodies and you know work hard and be diligent in order to succeed and we we are doing it not to receive a reef that will one day fade and that was like a plant that was put on their head in a reef and but you know that wouldn't last but we're going to get a crown in heaven for living for the Lord we're going to get something that lasts forever. That's what Paul is saying here so all the more we should be seeking to honor the Lord with our bodies as people who are athletes would honor their bodies in order to prepare for the games. Verse 26, "Therefore I run in such a way as not without aim. I box in box in such a way as not beating the air." There were people that would train in boxing back then and it was called like shadow boxing where you would just pretend to be hitting someone you know and that was a means of training. And that's nothing wrong with that to train but eventually you know if you're a boxer you got to get in the ring and box and he's saying listen I actually get in the ring and I proclaim this gospel and I study the word of God and I prepare to preach. I try to be as an athlete and be prepared and work hard in order to do a good job. And I even disciplined myself listen to this verse 27 but I disciplined my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified. And when you went into the games there was actually towards the end as the Olympic games was coming up the athletes actually had to stay together under strict training because they didn't want to put some athlete not prepared in the games. So they would have to undergo strict training typically on site or close to where the Olympics was held and they had to be disciplined in that time or they could be kicked out and then not allowed to compete in the games. And that's what Paul's talking about here is that you know what we have to discipline ourselves and you know I think as far as being disqualified. He's not talking about losing a salvation but what he's talking about there is you know if you if you showed up for the Olympic games and you were in the final training stages and you were just not showing yourself to work hard or be disciplined or you weren't prepared they could say you're not listen you're not going to compete in the games. And you know what we don't want to lose our reward. If you believe in Jesus and you remain in faith you're going to be in heaven but there are rewards for serving God and he doesn't want to be undisciplined and be like well I can get out in front of this church and preach but then my life looks completely different while I'm not preaching because I'm not really being disciplined maybe I'm engaging in sexual immorality I mean Paul's not doing that but he's saying what if I did what if I didn't discipline myself so that really my life of faith and what I represented to the church was different than what was going on behind the scenes. I might find myself disqualified from the prize I might not receive the crown because I'm really a phony and Paul's saying listen I don't want to be a phony I want to be a man of God and I disciplined my body and I wash the way that I live both in front of the church and you know on my own so that I'm not myself disqualified from the prize so there you have it an interesting chapter I want to thank people for providing for me so that I can get to hear that. I want to thank you for supporting me in ministry so that I can devote myself to it and do the things that I'm doing here. We're actually one year into revering the word and there are expenses to revering the word as well if you you know want to help provide for those expenses I have not received any revenue for what I'm doing here at revering the word independently. If you want to help cover expenses you could find a way probably through revering the word.com or get a hold of me to help out with expenses for this podcast. But you do that only as you feel led as Paul said I'm obligated to do it because I called to do this and I'm going to do it whether you provide for it or not hallelujah praise the Lord. [BLANK_AUDIO]