"For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; but woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" (I Corinthians 9:16)
In our last MOB lesson for 2024, on I Corinthians 8, the apostle Paul addressed a question--and a concern--raised by some of the new Corinthian believers about whether it was right, and ok, for them to eat meat offered to idols! They lived in a "polytheistic world" where it was common practice for unbelieving Greek and Roman people to offer meat as a sacrifice to their pagan gods, basically (they beleived) to keep them from contaminating the meat with evil spirits. The meat left over from these sacrificial rituals was then given to the pagan priests and served to those participating in the temple feasts, or sold in the local marketplace. Some of the Corinthians who had become Christians were apparently bothered by their conscience for eating this meat, associating it with their former pagan entanglements, and might even have been tempted by it to return to pagan worship; while others, "more knowledgeable," understood that there was nothng unclean or wrong with the meat itself and therefore felt "at liberty" to enjoy eating it! Afterall, it was probably the best nad most economical meat available! And yet as Paul considered the concerns that were raised, he saw it as a possible "stumbling block" for the "weaker" brothers; and so warned the Corinthians to "take care that this liberty of theirs wouldn't somehow become a stumblinmg block to the weak"! A sin, Paul said, not only against a brother but against Christ!
And not only did Paul address the question but he set the example, and established the principle, by resolving for himself that "if food caused his brother to stumble, he would never eat meat again, so that he would not cause his brother to stumble"! And so an important principle that the apostle Paul established for himself and other believers in that day, and a principle that applies as well for every believer today!
And we saw this principle "of limiting, or yielding, one's rights out of love for one's brothers" carrying over into our lesson last night as well, on I Corinthians 9! Where Paul begins with a series of rhetorical questions (where the answers are obvious)!
"Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? Do we (He and Barnabas) not have the right to eat and drink" Do not we have the right to refrain from working (on the side, as 'tentmakers,' to support themselves)?" And so this is how the apostle Paul began our lesson last night! In chapter 8, Paul resolving to "limit his right to eat meat if it causes his brother to stumble"! And now in chapter 9, limiting his right to receive material support for his ministry, from the church of Corinth, a church which he founded, if receiving such support became a "hinderance to the gospel of Christ"!
He begins by offering a defense for his "apostleship" (and the "authority" of his teaching which goes along with it!) which has apparently been questioned by the Corinthians--perhaps because he and Barnabas were working as tentmakers, on the side, to support themselves, rather than exercising their right to receive wages for their ministry, as was the custom for other apostles and philosophers and teachers! Indicating to the Corinthians perhaps that Paul himself didn't consider himself as an apostle worthy of support!
There should be no question of his apostleship, according to Paul! First of all, he had seen the resurrected Jesus which, according to Acts 1, was a requirement for an apostle! You all know the story, and they undoubtedly did too (recorded in Acts 9), of how Christ appeared to him, on the road to Damascus, at the time of his conversion, and how he sent Ananias to minister to him, telling him that he (Paul) was "a chosen instrument of His, to bear His name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel"! And Acts 18:9 records how the Lord also appeared to him, in a vision, in the night, while he was in Corinth, telling him "not to be afraid...and that He had many people in that city"! And last, but not least, in I Corinthians 15:5-11, where Paul recorded how the resurrected Christ appeared, among others, "to Cephas, then to the twelve...and, last of all, to me," whom he called "the least of the apostles"!
And, secondly, he was an apostle as evidenced by what the Lord had accomplished through him in establishing the church of Corinth, where he was sent by God! The very word "apostle," in the Greek, means "a sent one"! And the believers in Corinth were "the seal of his apostleship!
And so, as an apostle, Paul had some clear rights, including the right to be supported for his ministry! "Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the mild of the flock?"
And this is not just his own thinking about the issue, he says (in verse 8). "Does not the Law of Moses also say these things?" And he cites Deuteronomy 25:4, where it's written that "you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing"! This same analogy is also quoted in the New Testament, in II Timothy 5:17-18, where it adds, "the laborer is worthy of his wages"! II timothy 2:6 says, "The hard-working farmer ought to be first to receive his share of the crops!" Paul sums it up by writing in verse 10, "Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops"!
Then Paul gets to the bottom line, in verses 11! "If we sowed spiritual things in you (things which have eternal value!), is it too much (to ask!) if we reap material things from you? If others share the right over you, do we not more?
And so, Paul firmly established himself as an apostle of Christ! He has seen the resurrected Christ and the results of his labor in Corinth more than establish his authority as an apostle! And so, he should be heard, and treated as one! He has his rights! Right?
But then verse 12! And here it comes! "Nevertheless..."!"
"Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things (the Phillips translation say, "we have put up with all sorts of things!") so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ"! Wow! (And so, again, Paul sets the example of being willing to "yield," or limit his rights, and his 'liberties in Christ,' for the cause of the gospel!)
But he's not finished! He can't seem to let go of this! And so, in verse 13, he adds, "Do you not knbow that those who perform sacred services (in the temple!)--going back again to the Old Testament--eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar share from the altar?" And then concludes with the best argument of all! Referring to how Jesus Himself when sending out His discipes to preach the gospel (in Matthew 10:5-15, and in corresponding passages in Mark 6:8-13 and Luke 9:2-6), told them to "not to carry any money belt...but to stay in the house where they enter, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages..."!
What more needs to be said? Paul, you made your case!
But Paul is still not finished! In verse 15 he wants his readers to know that he "was not writing any of these things so that it would be done so in his case," and that "he'd rather die than for anyone to think that he's preaching for the money"! How like Paul!
And that gets to Paul's bottom-line reason for preaching the gospel, in verses 16-18, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel...I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel!" Wow!
Peter Marshall once wrote, "May freedom be seen, not as a right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right!"
Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, "Do right! Do right! Do right til the stars fall!"
What more could we say!
Lowell
In our last MOB lesson for 2024, on I Corinthians 8, the apostle Paul addressed a question--and a concern--raised by some of the new Corinthian believers about whether it was right, and ok, for them to eat meat offered to idols! They lived in a "polytheistic world" where it was common practice for unbelieving Greek and Roman people to offer meat as a sacrifice to their pagan gods, basically (they beleived) to keep them from contaminating the meat with evil spirits. The meat left over from these sacrificial rituals was then given to the pagan priests and served to those participating in the temple feasts, or sold in the local marketplace. Some of the Corinthians who had become Christians were apparently bothered by their conscience for eating this meat, associating it with their former pagan entanglements, and might even have been tempted by it to return to pagan worship; while others, "more knowledgeable," understood that there was nothng unclean or wrong with the meat itself and therefore felt "at liberty" to enjoy eating it! Afterall, it was probably the best nad most economical meat available! And yet as Paul considered the concerns that were raised, he saw it as a possible "stumbling block" for the "weaker" brothers; and so warned the Corinthians to "take care that this liberty of theirs wouldn't somehow become a stumblinmg block to the weak"! A sin, Paul said, not only against a brother but against Christ!
And not only did Paul address the question but he set the example, and established the principle, by resolving for himself that "if food caused his brother to stumble, he would never eat meat again, so that he would not cause his brother to stumble"! And so an important principle that the apostle Paul established for himself and other believers in that day, and a principle that applies as well for every believer today!
And we saw this principle "of limiting, or yielding, one's rights out of love for one's brothers" carrying over into our lesson last night as well, on I Corinthians 9! Where Paul begins with a series of rhetorical questions (where the answers are obvious)!
"Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? Do we (He and Barnabas) not have the right to eat and drink" Do not we have the right to refrain from working (on the side, as 'tentmakers,' to support themselves)?" And so this is how the apostle Paul began our lesson last night! In chapter 8, Paul resolving to "limit his right to eat meat if it causes his brother to stumble"! And now in chapter 9, limiting his right to receive material support for his ministry, from the church of Corinth, a church which he founded, if receiving such support became a "hinderance to the gospel of Christ"!
He begins by offering a defense for his "apostleship" (and the "authority" of his teaching which goes along with it!) which has apparently been questioned by the Corinthians--perhaps because he and Barnabas were working as tentmakers, on the side, to support themselves, rather than exercising their right to receive wages for their ministry, as was the custom for other apostles and philosophers and teachers! Indicating to the Corinthians perhaps that Paul himself didn't consider himself as an apostle worthy of support!
There should be no question of his apostleship, according to Paul! First of all, he had seen the resurrected Jesus which, according to Acts 1, was a requirement for an apostle! You all know the story, and they undoubtedly did too (recorded in Acts 9), of how Christ appeared to him, on the road to Damascus, at the time of his conversion, and how he sent Ananias to minister to him, telling him that he (Paul) was "a chosen instrument of His, to bear His name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel"! And Acts 18:9 records how the Lord also appeared to him, in a vision, in the night, while he was in Corinth, telling him "not to be afraid...and that He had many people in that city"! And last, but not least, in I Corinthians 15:5-11, where Paul recorded how the resurrected Christ appeared, among others, "to Cephas, then to the twelve...and, last of all, to me," whom he called "the least of the apostles"!
And, secondly, he was an apostle as evidenced by what the Lord had accomplished through him in establishing the church of Corinth, where he was sent by God! The very word "apostle," in the Greek, means "a sent one"! And the believers in Corinth were "the seal of his apostleship!
And so, as an apostle, Paul had some clear rights, including the right to be supported for his ministry! "Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the mild of the flock?"
And this is not just his own thinking about the issue, he says (in verse 8). "Does not the Law of Moses also say these things?" And he cites Deuteronomy 25:4, where it's written that "you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing"! This same analogy is also quoted in the New Testament, in II Timothy 5:17-18, where it adds, "the laborer is worthy of his wages"! II timothy 2:6 says, "The hard-working farmer ought to be first to receive his share of the crops!" Paul sums it up by writing in verse 10, "Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops"!
Then Paul gets to the bottom line, in verses 11! "If we sowed spiritual things in you (things which have eternal value!), is it too much (to ask!) if we reap material things from you? If others share the right over you, do we not more?
And so, Paul firmly established himself as an apostle of Christ! He has seen the resurrected Christ and the results of his labor in Corinth more than establish his authority as an apostle! And so, he should be heard, and treated as one! He has his rights! Right?
But then verse 12! And here it comes! "Nevertheless..."!"
"Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things (the Phillips translation say, "we have put up with all sorts of things!") so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ"! Wow! (And so, again, Paul sets the example of being willing to "yield," or limit his rights, and his 'liberties in Christ,' for the cause of the gospel!)
But he's not finished! He can't seem to let go of this! And so, in verse 13, he adds, "Do you not knbow that those who perform sacred services (in the temple!)--going back again to the Old Testament--eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar share from the altar?" And then concludes with the best argument of all! Referring to how Jesus Himself when sending out His discipes to preach the gospel (in Matthew 10:5-15, and in corresponding passages in Mark 6:8-13 and Luke 9:2-6), told them to "not to carry any money belt...but to stay in the house where they enter, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages..."!
What more needs to be said? Paul, you made your case!
But Paul is still not finished! In verse 15 he wants his readers to know that he "was not writing any of these things so that it would be done so in his case," and that "he'd rather die than for anyone to think that he's preaching for the money"! How like Paul!
And that gets to Paul's bottom-line reason for preaching the gospel, in verses 16-18, "For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel...I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel!" Wow!
Peter Marshall once wrote, "May freedom be seen, not as a right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right!"
Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, "Do right! Do right! Do right til the stars fall!"
What more could we say!
Lowell