For the Love of the Gospel

We have been going through a sermon series at FBC Fulton, MO called Church Undivided, where we are looking at the importance of unity within the local church. The church has been given one of the most important tasks ever: sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world that desperately needs it. One of the greatest obstacles to that task can be disunity within a fellowship. It is hard to convince someone of the power of the gospel to reconcile us to God when they cannot see it reconciling believers with one another.

We have been in 1 Corinthians to see how unity should be sought within the church. The church in Corinth during the first century had a lot going for it, but it also had some divisions within. They had written to the apostle Paul for guidance in settling some of the divisive issues they were going through. 

Today, we will look at 1 Corinthians 9 to see what the ultimate goal should be in the life of a believer. I have titled today’s message, “For the Love of the Gospel.” 

In 1 Corinthians 8, we see that one of the issues causing division within this local church was the exercise of a believer’s freedom in Christ. Some were having an issue with fellow believers eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul had written back to them to share that though it was just meat, they were to think about the effect that their actions would have on weaker believers. 

As we come to 1 Corinthians 9, Paul knows that what he has shared with the church in Corinth may be hard to accept. The Holy Spirit-driven guidance that he had given would go against the current of regular thought. He had told them to not think just about one’s own good but the good of the entire group. 

We can have a hard time with this even today. Our culture pushes us to think about ourselves first and many times only. To live our lives with the good of others in view is not something that comes naturally to our sinful flesh. It will take the work of the Holy Spirit changing our desires to match His to happen. 

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul uses an illustration from his own life. He shows that this is not something that he is just telling the church in Corinth to do, but he is also doing this himself. 

Paul’s “Right”

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, because you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this: Don’t we have the right to eat and drink? Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife like the other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I have no right to refrain from working? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock? Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing? For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain. Is God really concerned about oxen? Isn’t he really saying it for our sake? Yes, this is written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing the crop. If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?

1 Corinthians 9:1-11 (CSB)

In this passage, Paul uses the illustration of his right to get paid for preaching the gospel. This is a topic that makes us squirm at times. I want to calm any nerves there might be by saying that we are not going to talk about paying the preacher. This church does a very good job at taking care of her leaders for the work that they do. This is not going to be about how much should be paid to the pastors. 

Paul points to four evidences that he had a right to be paid for the work that he did in proclaiming the gospel and leading churches. 

His Apostleship

In verses 1-2, Paul talks about the fact that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ. Apostle is not a term that we use in our church currently because we feel that there are no apostles at this time in history. We see in Acts 1:21-22 that one of the requirements for this title is that the person had to see the resurrected Christ. While I have never physically seen the resurrected Christ, Paul had (Acts 9). 

Paul shares with the church in Corinth that they were a testimony to his apostleship. There is an insinuation in these two verses that because Paul rightly held the title of ‘apostle’, then he had a right to receive compensation for his work for the gospel.

Common Sense

In verses 3-7, Paul shares a second reason for why he should receive compensation for his gospel work: common sense. 

This reason might be a little hard to swallow in our day because as some radio personalities from the South (Rick & Bubba) like to say on their show: “Common sense is a super power.” While it may seem that this “super power” is not being used much in our day, there is still some basic truths that are around us in everyday life. One of those is that if a person does a work, then they should be compensated for it. 

Paul talks about the right to basic needs in verse 4. Paul talks about the right to have a wife join us in the work that God has called us to do in verse 5. In verse 7, Paul shares about how even a soldier doesn’t pay to serve but is paid for his service.

Sadly, this common sense principle (paid for the work you do) is not carried out in all places. There are some places where forced labor upon people without them being compensated for that. This is wrong and should be corrected. 

Biblical Commands

In verses 8-11, Paul shares from the Old Testament that the worker should be properly compensated is a principle that God put in place. Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 25:4 that even an ox should be able to snack while it is working. God cares about us much more than He does oxen. 

Jesus’ Words

In 1 Corinthians 9:13-14, Paul even shares that Jesus commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel. This is pointing back to Matthew 10 where Jesus told His disciples as He sent them out two-by-two that they didn’t have to stockpile for the journey, but God would take care of them through the generosity of His people. 

With these four evidences, Paul makes it clear that he was more-than-qualified to receive from the Corinthians pay for the gospel work that he had done among them. Paul spent about 18 months there sharing the gospel and helping the church get started. 

Paul’s Refusal

You may have noticed that while we were looking at some of the evidences of why Paul should have been paid, we skipped one verse – verse 12. I want to go back to that verse because it is in that verse that we see Paul refusing his “right.”

If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right; instead, we endure everything so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:12 (CSB)

Paul knew that he had made a clear case for his being paid. It was a God-given right that was his, but he refused to put this right into play. Why would he do that? The reason Paul did not accept pay from the Corinthian church was because something bigger was at stake: the gospel getting to where it was needed. 

Paul was not opposed to being paid for the gospel work that he was doing. He was not saying that it is wrong for a preacher to accept pay for gospel work. Rather, he recognized that in this situation, this matter was more of a hindrance than a help. Paul refused to be part of anything that would hinder the work of the gospel. 

The word “hinder” in verse 12 literally means “to obstruct or halt.” 

Paul continues this reasoning in 1 Corinthians 9:15-18. 

For my part I have used none of these rights, nor have I written these things that they may be applied in my case. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast! For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach ​— ​and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my rights in the gospel. 

1 Corinthians 9:15-18 (CSB)

The work of the gospel is the most important work there is in this life.

There is a real enemy (Satan) that wants to hinder and prevent the gospel from doing what God intends it to do. He is very cunning and will use various methods in attempt to thwart God’s plans. One of those methods is getting God’s people more focused on their “rights” than on what is best for the gospel to go forth. We must be on guard against this scheme of the devil, or we may play part in helping hinder the gospel without recognizing it.

Applications

In this passage, we see Paul showing the church in first-century Corinth that what he had told them in 1 Corinthians 8 was not just hollow speech. This was something that he was practicing in his own life among them. 

What does this have for us today? I would like to share with you three applications of this passage for our lives today.

In Christ, we are free

As we look to God’s word, we can see clearly that the gospel of Jesus Christ comes to set us free. 

For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.  

Galatians 5:1 (CSB)

The gospel of Jesus first sets us free from the law of sin and death. 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 

Romans 8:1-2 (CSB)

The law of sin and death is the fact that because we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard, we are under His wrath and face death (both physical and spiritual). When we come by faith to Jesus, He forgives us of our sins and gives us life that will last for eternity. 

In Christ, we are also free from the lie that we have to do enough to be right with God. We could never do enough. It’s not about what we can or cannot do. It’s about what Christ has done and the fact that His work is fully sufficient. 

We need to learn what this freedom is about. It is not about being set free to do whatever we want whenever we want. We find out the truth about this freedom by looking to God’s word and seeing what it truly says. 

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him,“If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

John 8:31-32 (CSB)

The revelation of your words brings light and gives understanding to the inexperienced. 

Psalms 119:130 (CSB)

Maturity and unity call for sacrifice

We all have a desire to be solid and strong in areas of our lives – even spiritually. Spiritual strength and stability come with spiritual maturity. That maturity, along with the unity that the church needs, comes from sacrifices being made. We may not like to give up certain rights for the betterment of others, but it may be necessary.

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross. 

Philippians 2:5-8 (CSB)

Jesus gave us the example to follow. He didn’t have to come and be our atoning sacrifice. He could have stayed in heaven and still would be holy, pure, and good. But Jesus knew that His sacrifice was what was needed for others to be made right with God. 

If we are willing to give up only wrong things for Jesus, never let us talk about being in love with Him. Anyone will give up wrong things if he knows how, but are we prepared to give up the best we have for Jesus Christ? The only right a Christian has is the right to give up his rights. ^[1] Chambers, Oswald. “Decreasing for His Purposes.” In My Utmost for His Highest. Quoted in My Utmost for His Highest. March 24, 2019. … Continue readingOswald Chambers

“You can sacrifice without love, but you cannot love without sacrifice.”  ^[2]Ingle, Bob. Church Undivided: Exploring God’s Vision for Unity in 1 Corinthians 8–10 (p. 107). Sermon To Book. Kindle Edition.Bob Ingle

The ultimate goal of unity is the gospel going forth unhindered

All of this talk about “is it right or wrong?”, “can I do this or not?”, “stronger faith vs. weaker faith” are issues that have to be dealt with for unity in a church to happen. Sometimes the answer is very clear. Sometimes it takes some discernment. 

At the root of unity within the local church lies the goal: the gospel going forth unhindered. There are plenty of attacks upon the gospel by Satan and this sinful world. The church has no business joining forces with them to create more barriers for people to come to Jesus. 

A unified church is an amazing testimony to the power and grace of our great God. This unity will not happen anywhere else or by any other means that the work of the Holy Spirit among His people. 

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References

↑1	Chambers, Oswald. “Decreasing for His Purposes.” In My Utmost for His Highest. Quoted in My Utmost for His Highest. March 24, 2019. https://utmost.org/decreasing-for-his-purpose/.
↑2	Ingle, Bob. Church Undivided: Exploring God’s Vision for Unity in 1 Corinthians 8–10 (p. 107). Sermon To Book. Kindle Edition.